Song of the Lone Wolf
by Howling-Moon-Wolf
Summary: Meija is a young she-wolf who is alone in the world. The Saturdays are a family with a great secret and a great enemy. When they all come together in a small town where nothing strange ever happens, what will?
1. Prologue

Howling-Moon-Wolf a.k.a Wolfy: Hi! This is my first story and I hope you like it!

Doc & Drew: Wolfy does not own The Secret Saturdays.

* * *

A shadowed figure darted out of a small brick building, the alarms inside blaring. They shrieked high and loud, crying _thief, thief!_ The startled law-breaker skirted the edge of the building, slipping easily into a nearby alley-way as police men rushed up in their brightly flashing, squealing cars.

They stepped warily out of their cars and began to inspect the area, searching for the perpetrator. But they wouldn't find one; not if the thief could help it. Nearby, people began to step out of their cars, and a drowsy canine officer was almost bowled over as his dog began to howl and struggle. The flashlights swiveled in the figures direction.

The once peaceful night was shattered again. The burglar slipped on an oily patch and crashed into a dumpster as she turned to run, earning a loud _thump!_ The flashlight beams cut through the darkness. Some people screamed at what they saw. That damn dog was _still_ barking…

A young girl sat exposed in the light. Her long chestnut hair was oily at the tips from the grease she had fallen in, and her eyes were rapidly dilating from the abrupt change in lighting. One ear twitched.

Scrambling to her feet, the girl snatched her large bag of stolen goods before turning to bolt down the alleyway. Police pointed and yelled and cursed. Sparks flew as bullets ricocheted off of asphalt and dumpsters, and the girl barely avoided the first few shots.

One shot rang out, and a spray of blood hit the dirt as a wound cut deep into one of the girls upper arms. She yelped, an animalistic sound, stumbled, but continued on, her arm screaming with pain and dribbling crimson. With a sharp _clink_, the canine cop was unleashed and sped, howling, after her.

Bursting out the other end of the alley, she began down the street in a panic. Police cars pulled hastily around the corner behind her, lights flashing. Some turned on their sirens. As the blocks of street began to add up, the dogs began to gain on her. The girl's breath came in shorter and shorter until it was only ragged gasps that kept her going.

She needed to stop, lie down, find an escape, anything to stop running for a while. She needed to _breathe_. The girl considered dropping her hard earned food, but she had gone through too much, _needed_ it too much, to do that now. Her arm became excruciatingly painful, then numb. Her eyes watered, and out of her blurry vision she caught sight of a miracle.

It was a rusty fire escape. It would take her out of reach of the dog, who was now tearing into her ankles, and out across the roof-tops, away from the police. It was high, though. She would have to jump.

The girl made a deft leap through the air and wrapped her sweaty palms around the sharp orange bars of the ladder. They cut into the palms of her hand, and her bad arm quaked so violently she was forced to pull herself up with only her good arm. Blood dripped onto the bars below, making it slippery for her feet.

She stumbled a few steps out onto the roof, fatigue sending her head spinning, and turned to glance warily at the scene below her. People stepped out onto their porches and began to scream or call others or snap pictures. Police men cursed and shouted and ordered others around. That _damn_ dog was _still_ barking…

The girl swayed slightly as she disappeared into the shadows.

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Wolfy: Well, there you go, the wonderful prologue of the story that I will probably update every couple of weeks. For those who don't understand the word couple, it means two. I am telling you this, because earlier today, my dad said I could have a COUPLE of Oreos, and I took three. He got mad.

Fiskerton: _Smooth_

Zak: *Thumbs up*

Zak: Hey, wait a minute, where do I come in to this story! *Grumble*

Wolfy: Just be patient, geeze!

Fiskerton, Zak, & Wolfy: Review Please!


	2. Chapter 1: The Werewolfess

Wolfy: Hey everybody, the first REAL chapter of this story I'm producing is here! WOOT!

Zak: Finally! A chapter that has me in it!

Fiskeron: _And me!_

Komodo & Zon: Wolfy does not own The Secret Saturdays!

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It was a beautiful morning. Bright rays of sunshine shone down on the evergreen forests that ran along the Pacific coastline, glinting off of the Saturday residence.

Inside their home, the Saturday family busied themselves in the kitchen. Drew Saturday flipped pancakes at the stove while Doc Saturday fixed himself some coffee. Zak Saturday and his brothers, Fiskerton and Komodo, were all passed out around the table. Their sister, Zon, landed quietly outside the window and cawed a greeting.

The bi-color haired boy jerked up as his father sat down next to him. The seven foot Fiskerton laughed and pointed as his brother wiped drool from the corner of his mouth, and Komodo disappeared from the room. Drew swung by the table, her crescent hair bouncing, and piled the pancakes onto everyone's plate before settling down herself. "Morning sweetie," she greeted her sons as they dug into their food.

"Morning," he returned, plate licked clean. He belched. Doc and Drew glared, but Fiskerton only shook his finger at the boy. "Watch this!" He told Zak. The cryptid gathered his breath before letting out a loud, maple-scented burp.

Zak flapped his hand in front of his face and laughed. "Nice one, Fisk!" He chuckled. The elder Saturdays grimaced and disappeared from the room, passing Komodo, who was on his way back in. The reptiles step held a purpose.

When the dragon offered Zak the rolled up newspaper, the boy almost chocked on his orange juice. Komodo _always_ shredded the newspaper and ate it. _Always_. The boy leaned down, grabbed it, and flipped it open.

His eyes widened as he scanned the front page. After looking it over for a few minutes, he let a grin spread across his face. Fiskerton gulped as a very well-known adventurous twinkle entered the boy's dark eyes, replacing the concentrated one that had been there just moments ago. He opened his mouth wide. "Mom!" He bellowed in excitement before racing out of the room. Fiskerton and Komodo followed at his heels.

Zak raced through the metallic halls of his home, his brothers following him through his family's hydraulic doors and into one of their many labs. He skidded to a stop in front of his mom, newspaper on hand.

Drew pulled her goggles and gloves off, tapping Doc on the shoulder to gather his attention as well. Zak continued grinning. "Check it out," he trilled excitedly.

Both parents' eyes widened as it landed on the front picture and news headliner. In bold at the top of the article it read '_Werewolf Raids Small Town_' and underneath it had a picture. The picture was fairly good quality, but fuzzy, as if the persons hands had been shaking. It showed the silhouette of what looked like a long haired girl with cat ears on top of her head and a bushy tail, but it was hard to tell. Two blue orbs shone out from where the girls eyes were, which was definitely suspicious as only animals eyes reflected light like that.

Doc took the picture from Drew's hands. "I'll run a scan to see how authentic this photograph is," he told her. Drew nodded back to confirm that was alright before taking the article out of the bundle of papers and speed reading it.

"I'll check out this article and see if I can dig up any more information on this alleged 'Wolf-Girl.'" The woman scientist answered. Zak watched the exchange, practically bouncing where he was standing.

"So are we gonna go to Michigan and see the wolf man?" He asked hopefully.

"_Girl_," Fiskerton corrected, though he looked equally as hopeful. The answer to that question soon became obvious as more information on this alleged wolf was pulled in.

And hey, they were scientists after all.

Drew nodded.

"Yes! Field trip!"

* * *

Wolfy: I know I said I would be updating every couple of weeks, but I still have a fiery inspiration for this story, so up go the chapters!

Saturday Family: Yay!

Wolfy & Saturday Family: Please review!


	3. Chapter 2: Encounter

Wolfy: Here's the real second chapter, and sorry about that. I'm not really sure why the real second chapter switched with the first one, but I fixed it, hooray!

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The Saturday airship landed just outside of the little town in the newspaper, the ramp sliding open to allow access for the family to leave and explore.

Zak Saturday appeared at the top of the ramp, Fiskerton by his side. With the claw tucked safely in his belt, he nudged the phantom beside him playfully. "Come on Fisk; let's go before mom and dad stop us!"

With that said, the salt-and-pepper haired youth took off, sliding down the ramp and disappearing down a little dirt street that led to the town. Fiskerton gave a halfhearted glare and eye-roll after his brother before leaping after him, his long legs easily helping him catch up.

Stepping out onto one of the more main streets in the small country city, Zak paused to look around. People strolled about, popping in and out of street stores and greeting those they knew. It was a friendly, close-knit community, by the looks of it.

Then, someone saw Fiskerton.

Immediately, most people dispersed, shooting glares or terrified glances in their direction. Fiskerton whimpered. "_What'd I do?_" He whined, his owlish-looking ears drooping.

Zak glared at the retreating backs angrily, his dark eyes sparking orange for a moment before turning to the intimidating, woos of a cryptid. "Aw, don't worry about them. They don't know anything, anyways." He amended.

The street was now almost empty as the strange looking duo strolled along. Down, at the end of their block, a girl about the same age as Zak walked around the corner.

Her hands were jammed in the pockets of the light jacket she was wearing, and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Underneath the cap jammed on her head, Zak could see the beat-up old ear-phones she had stuffed into her ears, and Fiskerton could hear the song she was blaring at high levels.

She glanced up immediately, wary, as if she had felt them looking at her. Catching sight of Fiskerton, she turned on her heel and started back the way she came.

That was a better reaction that most, Zak decided. "Hey, wait up!" He called after her. The boy stopped in front of her, and was relieved when she stayed to talk, even if she backed out of reach and kept a close eye on Fisk.

Zak gave a nervous laugh. "I'm Zak Saturday, cryptid tamer extraordinaire. And this here is Fiskerton." He said politely. Fiskerton raised a hand in greeting.

"_Hi_," he said cheerfully, giving the girl a furry smile. She gave a nervous twitch of the lips back.

"Who are you?" Zak could see that this question bothered her. As if it wasn't often asked under polite circumstances. Her entire body stiffened, like an animal about to bolt, and her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

To anyone who didn't have the experience Zak did, she might have looked pretty normal, her mouth frozen in a small smile. But Zak could see she was nervous, and Fiskerton knew too. _What is she so edgy about_, they wondered.

The girl was _not_ going to tell this stranger her name, that was for sure. He didn't need to know, and besides, what good could it do if he knew anyways? She mentally snarled at herself. _It could get me killed or tortured_, she thought bitterly. But if she didn't give it, he would be suspicious.

She edged back, glaring coldly. "I'm nobody," she told him. "Meija is my name, but I'm really nobody at all."

Zak frowned. "You have to be someone." He insisted.

Meija eyed the boy in front of her. "Well who are you then, Mr. Extraordinary? You don't look very extraordinary to me, so you must be nobody too." She walked slowly in a circle around him, as if she was checking him out, then grinned.

Zak smiled back, glad the girl was loosening up. "What are you," he joked back. "Some wild animal looking for dinner?"

The girl made her hands look like claws and hung them out in front of her. "You never know." She gave a playful growl, though she was partially serious.

"I guess I'll have to…" The pre-teen boy stopped in mid-sentence, switching his gaze from the girl to something behind her. In fact, the two, bright orange-clad something's behind her.

"Aw, crap!" he cursed. His mom said specifically _not_ to wander off. He hadn't realized that they'd been out for so long. The girl flinched at his outburst and whirled around to see what he was so freaked out about. Her eyes widened, and she fought the urge to bolt in the face of what looked like it was going to be a confrontation.

Two people were storming furiously in this direction. A huge man with a blind eye and a scar to match it, as well as some kind of weird glove, and a woman with a sword strapped to her back. They were both dressed in the same neon orange as Zak the something-or-other extraordinaire

They stopped next to her and glared at the dark-eyed, suddenly pale boy standing in front of her. "Zak…" The man growled.

The woman decided to give the lecture. "You were not supposed to leave the airship, Zak! We came here to look for a cryptid, and not much is really known on _real_ werewolves! Not movie werewolves, _real_ werewolves!"

Meija found herself cowering along with Zak. Man, was this woman scary. And why were they all talking about her? _Sort of, at least_, she corrected herself. She wasn't really sure she was a werewolf; she might actually be something else.

Like a demon, or a monster.

Drew continued her speech, ignoring, for the moment, the girl next to her. "We don't know whether this wolf has hurt anybody or not Zak! What if it tried to attack you! We just want you to be safe." She quieted down at the last part.

Meija furrowed her eyebrows and began to edge away. She hadn't hurt anybody. She'd never even tried, for Luna's sake!

Zak sighed. "Sorry mom." He groaned, not really sounding sorry at all.

"Now," Doc cut in, "Who is this?" Meija knew he was referring to her, so she opened her mouth to introduce herself, but Fiskerton beat her to it.

"_This is Meija_," he answered, "_She was going to help Zak catch the werewolf_."

"Catch," the girl whispered, her throat suddenly dry. She swallowed hard, trying to get her mind to comprehend a sudden, horrible thought. "Catch it?" She repeated.

Doc quirked an eyebrow. "Of course we're going to catch the wolf…"

* * *

Wolfy: And that was the real second chapter! The third one should make sense now.


	4. Chapter 3: The Street Life

Wolfy: Well, I've written like, seven chapters in two days, so I decided to put up the third chapter while I try to rewrite the seventh one _again_. I can't figure out what to do! Anyways, this chapter is a look into the life of our current favorite furry little street-girl.

Zak: By the way, Wolfy, you forgot to do the disclaimer last chapter.

Wolfy: Crap! Oh, and, as a warning, this chapter has some swearing, 'cause our little street friend swears. I mean, come on, she lives on the streets. Of course she swears!

Fiskerton: Wolfy does not own The Secret Saturdays

* * *

_Catch the wolf._

_Catch the wolf._

_Catch the wolf. _

Meija tensed her entire body as the words bounced agonizingly around her brain. Her eyes widened. Her throat constricted. She began to shake.

_They're scientists,_ she thought numbly, _and they're trying to catch me._ Horrible images of them caging her and performing painful, agonizing experiments entered her mind. Of them caging her like the freak-show she knew she was. Of them killing her.

She had to get _away._

Meija did the only thing she could do. She followed her instincts. And she ran.

Whirling so quickly she was a blur, her long pony-tail slapping her in the face and stinging her frightened eyes, the girl took long, fast strides that carried her down the street, around the corner, and out of sight before anyone could finish yelling 'wait!'. Because she wasn't about to wait up for those images to come true.

Leaping a trashcan, the frantic street-girl tripped and went sprawling across the asphalt about a mile away from where she had been a few minutes ago, her cheek scraping across the broken, cracked rock. She jumped up and stumbled a few more paces forward, into the shadows, into safety.

Her eyes wild and wide, Meija scrambled backwards a bit more, breath coming in short ragged gasps from her outburst. She listened for a moment, clamping her mouth shut, her throat constricting painfully with the need for oxygen. Ears perked, she checked to see if anyone had followed her. No one had.

Letting out a heavy breath, the trembling pre-teen slumped backwards and ran a hand through her, now loose, wind-blown hair

Furrowing her brows, Meija rubbed her head again. Great. Just fucking great. Her furry wolf ears flattened against her head in rage, her nose crinkling in fury. Her ears had popped out, and she had lost her hat. She wrathfully tried to remember how long they had been visible and whether anyone had seen them, or her tail.

Gaining her breath, she tried to gather her wits about her. _What had she done?_ Meija questioned herself. By running, the fierce orphan had probably sparked their suspicion. _You useless idiot,_ she cursed at herself, a silent snarl forming on her face.

_You really are worthless. Look what you've just done. They were scientists! Now they're going to catch you, and you're going to be tortured to death. Well, at least now you won't bother anybody with your insignificant existence_, she ranted to herself miserably, the dejected stray's cynical thoughts weighing her down with depression. Her ears drooped, her tail hung limply in the dust, her hair overshadowed her - now wolfish - eyes. The girl sat there for a long time.

Sighing and finally pulling herself to her feet, Meija winced from the sudden pain that made itself known. "Dammit," she growled. Her legs ached, her scraped cheek throbbed, and that ever-present wound in her arm had reopened _again_. Leaning against the dirty, dark bricks that made the walls, the bloody pup sighed in bliss as the cool bricks met her sweaty, throbbing cheek.

_Time to go home,_ she decided. Determination sparking her eyes and flicking her ears, she set off, slinking through dark alleyways, staying out of sight, leaving only a smear of blood where she had rested her cheek against the alley wall, and the echo of her dark thoughts.

The swift lone-wolf made good time getting back to the rickety little place she called home. With the sun setting in the background, Meija slipped through a hole in a boarded up door to an old, broken down house. Her house.

She gave a tired smile, flashing a set of pearly white fangs into the darkness that coated the entrance. Slipping through the first dusty, pitch dark room, and through a small crack in the far wall, her eyes guided her with perfect night vision. Reaching through the darkness in this new room, she flipped a light switch, and brightness filled the space.

This was the room in which the stray lived; her home. The room was perfect to the girl, though to many it would be only an old kitchen/dining room in a boarded up old house. It was only one room, but it had everything she needed. Meija decided to hit her makeshift kitchen first.

It sat in the far left corner from the 'door'. While the rest of the room had soft, light tan carpeting, the kitchen had a tiled floor. The little square of cold flooring had a half-sized fridge, a sink, a chipped counter-top that included drawers, and a half-broken stove with an oven that sometimes worked, sometimes didn't. The empty, kinked countertops were covered in loose papers and clippings.

Pulling open the half lit fridge, the ravenous, tired girl pulled a big muffin out of her stolen pastries bag and grabbed one of her three remaining water-bottles. Making a double-take, Meija leaned back down to inspect her fridge.

Examining the near-empty space, her mouth turned into a frown. Her tail flipped thoughtfully, and her ears gave a twitch as she spoke aloud. "I'll have to go on a shopping spree; I'm almost out of food again." Other than the bag and the water, the fridge was dismally empty.

Shrugging, the wolf girl stepped back onto the carpet with her goods clutched in her arms. She crossed the room, passing a couple of shabby bean bags surrounding a damaged glass table that was covered in stray papers and a laptop, that lived in the middle of the room, then stopped in front of a squat, battered little dresser that sat in the front right corner. She pulled the shiny golden iPod out of her pocket and tossed it on the dresser, no longer needing it.

Throwing open one of the drawers, Meija swapped her jacket and long sleeved shirt for a slightly torn tank, and her jeans for a pair of sweat-shorts. She pulled off her shoes and socks as well. A white bandage wrapped around one of her wiry muscled arms, the red stain on it standing out brightly.

On the left side, near the front corner, a door hung haphazardly by one hinge and sat open crookedly. Stepping into the bathroom, Meija opened the single cabinet above the cracked sink and grabbed an antiseptic spray and a gauze roll. The injured kid also grabbed a Band-Aid for the scrape on her face, though it'd be gone by morning anyways.

She went back over to the dresser. Pulling the old bandage off, she winced as she caught a glimpse of the red, angry gash in the slightly cracked mirror above the dresser. Great. Now it was infected. Cleaning and rewrapping the injury, the cryptid-girl sat back and surveyed her 'den', to distract herself from the fact that her wound was getting worse.

She had never been hit with a bullet before, and didn't know how to take care of a bullet wound. The weakening stray lazily looked around her room.

It had teal blue walls, and three windows. The windows were all boarded on the outside, and to make sure no light escaped the cracks at night, she had dark purple curtains drawn tightly over them. No one could suspect anybody lived here from the outside, then.

The right wall had hallway, but it was caved in, huge chunks of plaster blocking it, so the only way in or out was the crack in the wall. The place had a closed, scruffy, but homely feel to it, and Meija felt truly safe here. She'd managed to stay here longer than anywhere else, though she knew in some corner of her mind that would change soon. It would have to, now that she'd been found again.

Walking away from the dresser, the exhausted cryptid-girl collapsed on a stiff futon that decorated the floor in the back right corner. A miniature night-stand, one that stood about eight inches tall, sat next to it, her food sitting on it. A dented green lamp leaned over the goods.

Meija grabbed the muffin and scarfed it down before finishing the water in one go. Giving an un-ladylike belch, she flipped the lamp on, threw the empty plastic bottle at the overhead switch, and settled back to doze in the warm yellow glow of her bedside light.

"I guess I have it pretty good for the street life," the dozy girl spoke softly, flipping onto her belly to get more comfortable. The firm futon underneath the poor, worn out wolf seemed to be as soft as a cloud as she slipped into darkness. Her tail gave a distant, single wag as her ears relaxed.

Outside, somewhere in the darkness, a dog howled. Meija gave a small, lethargic smile, before she could feel herself drifting, drifting, drifting…

* * *

Wolfy: And there you have it! The tough, not-so-friendly life of our poor little half-wolf friend.

Meija: ...Wow. My life is kind of a mix of goods and bad's. I mean, it's so hard to get food, and I always get wounds, but man, I get my own house too! And I don't have to go to school! HAH! SCREW YOU, SCHOOL PEOPLE! I DON'T HAVE TO SEE YOUR UGLY FACES!

Wolfy & Saturday Family: O.o

Wolfy: ...Okay? Anyways, next chapter starts from when Meija runs away. When I post it you'll see what I mean.

Doc & Drew: Please Read and Review!


	5. Chapter 4: Uncertainty

Wolfy: Hey everybody, I'm back again! I know I've been posting like crazy, but someone coughFisk4Presidentcough, has been pestering the crap out of me to update, so here I am once again!

Meija: Hey! How did those people know so much about me! And how dare they tell strangers about me! That's so _rude_!

Zak: Yeah, _they're_ the rude ones, aren't they?

Meija: *Glare*

Zak: Hey! *Sudden Realization* This entire chapter is about me! SWEET!

Meija & Wolfy: *Rolls Eyes*

Meija & Wolfy: Wolfy/I don't own the Secret Saturdays!

* * *

Zak Saturday watched, stunned, as the girl who had been standing next to him only moment ago shot down the street like a bullet. On instinct, he took off after her, his dark eyes narrowed in concentration.

Rounding the corner where she had turned, the young scientist saw a glimpse of her as she disappeared into an alleyway halfway down the road. He cursed. He'd never catch her now, and she'd be long gone through the alleyways, twisting and dodging, before he could figure out where to search. And she was_ fast_.

He felt stunned speechless. How had that girl moved so quickly?

His parents and brother came barreling around the corner after him, momentarily too bewildered to do anything. It was only second nature now that he had chased after her, and they'd had to take a split second to figure out what was going on.

Staring at the spot where she disappeared for just a moment longer, he turned towards his parents', confused. "Why'd she just take off like that?" he asked. He had been starting to enjoy her company. He hadn't seen many of his friends lately; scratch that, at _all_, since discovering his darkest secret. That he _was_ Kur.

His dad's eyes were hard, while his mother's held a mix of bewilderment and anxiousness. Fiskerton looked very confused, his furry eyebrows creased. His dad answered him.

Without taking his eyes from the spot where he knew she had vanished, he spoke in a voice that excited Zak. That was the voice that meant action! "She knows something. About the wolf I mean. She does know something. I can feel it." Zak's excitement dropped.

He had liked that girl. She had seemed cool. And he knew where that sentence would lead. "Are you sure?" He cringed after he let it slip out. He had sounded so disbelieving, and he had a sinking suspicion that it might just strengthen his dads resolve. And that's exactly what happened.

"We're going to track her down right now!" The large man flexed his battle gloved fist eagerly, his mouth curving into an excited smirk

Zak gave an inward groan. Call it cryptid hunting instincts, but the powerful magic-wielding pre-teen knew that it was a bad idea to _hunt_ this girl. They should just talk to her or something. Try to understand her. Maybe it was his Kur powers telling him that.

But until he could figure out solid information on why not to hunt her, he could just use Zon and the Claw to figure out where she lived and what she did all day. Then he could find out why he had this crazy suspicion about her.

He smirked. _Yeah_, he thought. _That's a great idea_! The witty boy started his plan. "Hey mom, I'm gonna get Zon to take me around, okay? Maybe I'll find something." He whistled for his bird sister, already knowing that his mom would cave.

A few miles away, an ancient beast awoke from her reptilian sun-nap. Lifting her long, rounded beak, she listened for the whistle again. It came. Spreading her wings with a mighty roar, she took to the air, her greenish mane swirling and waving in the wind, like a banner.

Zak watched as the dinosaur took a graceful dive for him, the saddle she carried underneath her waiting for him. Reaching up, one hand caught the saddle. Using the other one to maneuver himself around, the agile boy swung up onto the not-so-cryptid bird and pulled out his Claw.

Calling out his powers, Zak felt the energy flow through his body, creating an orange glow in his eyes, as well as his Claw.

He circled the city twice, Zon swooping and diving and spiraling to give the whole place a twice-over. It was actually much bigger than it looked, and the orange-glow faded from the bi-color haired boys' eyes as he lost concentration. He couldn't find a connection anywhere. Maybe there wasn't a wolf, after all?

Zon banked sharply after the second run, reporting to Zak. "_The parents are below us. I'm pulling down_." She said, her voice coming in clearly through the rush of the wind. He held on tighter as the bird dove down before flaring her wings. They landed lightly, just a few paces away from Zak's parents.

Fiskerton rounded the corner a couple blocks down, his red eyes searching. Spotting his family, the big furry phantom cupped his mouth, his voice projecting towards the Saturdays, where Komodo had joined the scene, appearing from thin air next to Zon. "_Hey guys, d'you find anything_?"

Zak knuckle bumped his brother as he came to join them, his long legs carrying him easily and quickly to the little circle of orange-clad people and mysterious beasts. Zak shook his head no.

"Well I did," Drew stated, her white teeth flashing from behind black lip-stick. "I went to visit some people that owned some stores on the main road. They said that the girl you were talking to Zak, has lived here for a couple of years. Her name is Meija." Zak was surprised. She had given him her real name! He hadn't really expected that.

His mom continued. "They figure she's about thirteen, your age, and…"

Doc cut her off. "Where does she live," he questioned, his blue eye moving in synch with his darker one to look at his wife. Zak could tell where this was headed. Fiskerton could too. He opened his fanged mouth to defend the friendly girl who hadn't run when she'd seen him, but Drew continued first. Zon and Komodo listened quietly, their blank expressions giving nothing away.

Drew had the mother look on when she answered this question. Fiskerton nudged Zak, but he had already seen the look. He nudged his brother back playfully. Komodo, not wanting to be left out, flicked Zak with his tail.

Zak rubbed his head and Fisk chuckled, before returning to the conversation. Zak shot the smug lizard a dirty look. They would have to finish this later.

"She doesn't have a home," Drew confirmed. "She's lived on the streets in _this_ town since about two years ago. She was around eleven. They think she might have traveled from somewhere else, so she's probably lived on the streets for longer."

"_Eleven?_" That was the simultaneous question from the furry phantom, the claw-wielder, and the huge, half-blind scientist.

Drew nodded, her silvery-white hair bobbing with her. "Came alone too. No family, no brothers' or sisters', not even another kid. All by herself. She's actually on good terms with some of the shop owners, though many had some less than flattering comments on her." His mom's eyes sparked at this. It had obviously not been a good scene if she was still angry. He shuddered.

Doc nodded his head. "I found something too," he informed his large, half reptilian family. He pulled out a little evidence baggy with a microscope slide in it from a pocket in his orange suit. Held inside was something, but the tough cryptid boy didn't know what. Fiskerton scratched his head.

"_Wha_…?" He asked, prodding Doc to tell what his big discovery had been.

He glanced at the bag for a moment before enlightening the group of scientists' on his find. "I went back to the ship to get Komodo to track the girl's scent. About a mile away he found a smear of blood on some random alley-wall."

Fiskerton nodded. "_So we're gonna analyze it or somethin', right_?" He asked. Doc nodded. Drew was uneasy, shifting from one booted foot to the other, her eyes flicking from the bag to the bi-color haired man holding it.

She still had the mother look in her dark eyes when she asked Doc her new question. "Honey, how much blood was there, in the alley, I mean? Not much, right? Not enough to be life threatening?" Her voice was uneasy, bordering worried. It was her mothering voice.

Doc smiled fondly at her, his unusual eyes softening. "Don't worry," he assured her. "There wasn't enough to kill anybody. Just a little."

Drew nodded tiredly. There was so much mystery and uncertainty surrounding this girl. Was she the wolf? Where had she come from? Why had she really run? Drew was starting to have another view on the wolf, and this girl. _There are no reports of any sightings before this, and no attacks in the area, so…_?

The intelligent woman wasn't sure what the problem was. But she knew now that she was here, she wanted to know more about this girl that her sons' were so defensive about. Even if they tried to make it look like no big deal, she could see that they were fond of her. And after only such a short period too!

Drew had been afraid lately that Zak was lonely, but what could she do? She had the sneaking suspicion that the other scientists were keeping an especially close eye on her family, and she tried her hardest to keep Zak - and his secret - away from them. If they knew...

The Saturday family set off to go get some rest after a long day, the sun setting in the distance behind them. Drew paused for a moment. There were only the stars beginning to appear, and a dog howling in the distance. She followed her family home. They could search again tomorrow.

* * *

Wolfy: There we go, more on Meija's past, and a little look into how the Saturdays are doing. Seems Drew, always the rough-and-tough mother, has had a change of heart about our dear little wolf!

Drew: I have a feeling about her, that's all!

Zak & Fiskerton: Read and Review, please


	6. Chapter 5: Nightmares and Memories

Wolfy: Hey peeps! I decided, with no annoying this time, to post my next chapter! YAY! Anyways, this chapter is a bit angsty, so watch out!

Meija: *Glare* I can't believe you added my nightmare! Talk about invading my personal space! And you even added the part where I...!

Fisk: *Tackle* _Shush! You're gonna ruin the chapter for the readers_!

Meija: *Crosses arms and stomps off*

Zak: *Walks in, past stomping Meija* What twisted her tail?

Annie: Wolfy doesn't own the Secret Saturdays

* * *

_It was very dark. It surrounded her, seeping into her vision and her mind. She felt a very deep sense of foreboding, as if something terrible was about to happen, as if the universe might just tear apart. Her fur stood on end, as if lightning was about to strike._

_Something appeared in the distance. This confused her. She could see? But it was so dark, the dark was all around, the darkness trapping her. What was that thing, the thing that had appeared and was now coming closer. It looked very much like her father, with sleek-looking copper hair and marine blue eyes._

_The man who looked like her father opened his mouth in a silent roar. Blood blossomed on his chest before he disappeared. The girl suddenly felt terrified. "MY FATHER'S DEAD!" She screamed to the darkness, tears gathering behind her eyes. "HE'S __**DEAD**__!" She screamed again, a few tears dripping out._

_Another person appeared. She also came closer, slowly, as if torturing her with the need to see. She looked like her father had always described her mother. But it couldn't be… _

_The woman turned to face the girl. Another scream escaped the girl's lips. She had no face! The woman held her long slender arms out, as if to beckon her in for a hug. The skin melted off the woman, and suddenly she was a bloody skeleton, before eroding into dust, into nothingness. It became dark again. The girl began screaming. "NO, __**NO**__! MOM! COME BACK! Please. Mom…" _

_She suddenly felt hysterical. Tears poured down her cheeks as she shrieked and screamed, pleading for someone to help, for her lost parent's, for the nightmare to end._

Meija jerked awake. A cold sweat plastered her once side-brushed bangs to her forehead, and her breath came in heavily. Her chestnut eyes, wide with fright, saw her room, still lit by the single, dented lamp. Her wolf ears, pressed terrified against her head, echoed only with her own screams. She was alone still.

With her head swimming, she rolled out of bed and stumbled for the kitchen, where the only working sink was. Collapsing against it, the petrified, confused girl splashed water into her face, helping her clear her mind a little.

She whimpered and slid to the floor, her tail tucked between her legs, her body slumped. "It was only a dream, it was only a dream," Meija chanted, trying desperately to calm herself down.

She rolled back into consciousness again a while later. Blinking bleary, crusted eyes open, the half asleep, lone girl felt confused for only a split second as to why she was in her kitchen. Groaning, she straightened up slowly, her entire body aching from running around and then sleeping on cold tiles.

"That is the last time I _ever_, do that," she tried to growl, but couldn't bring herself to do it. She began slowly cracking all her joints and muscles, stretching to return her flexibility. Meija rubbed her eyes, the crust flaking off, and then leaned over the sink to splash more water onto her tear-streaked face.

The pitiful girl walked slowly over to the fridge, her body still achy, and stared listlessly into the pathetic fridge. She closed the door after a while, not hungry. Meija stood quietly in the room for a moment before breaking out into tears.

"This is stupid," the frenzied orphan blubbered to herself, wiping vainly at her eyes. "Why am I crying?" She questioned herself, though the distressed wolf-girl knew the answer. _I'm all alone_, she howled inside her head_. I'm just a kid and I'm all alone!_

Blindly grabbing a pair of sandals, Meija rammed them on her feet. Slipping out the crack in her wall, she began to run. Sprinting out into the street, she slid across the dewy grass and through the city.

Barreling into some trash-cans in front of some nameless person's house, the heart-rendered stray flinched as they crashed. _I better scram before someone finds me_, she thought. Easily scaling a fire-escape, she stood suddenly in the middle of a roof of some tall office building.

She threw her head back and howled all the pent up feelings out of her heart.

The sound started low and echoed across the city, reaching every corner and filling it with the mournful sound. It rose a few pitches before going back down and leveling out again. She howled for the family she remembered and had lost, for her loneliness, and for the sleep she hadn't gotten because of that stupid, reoccurring nightmare. When the first sun-beam lit the sky, she stopped.

Meija took a deep breath and gave a relieved smile. The wolf-girl felt better now, as if the weight had been taken off of her chest. She heaved a sigh of relief and swiped all signs of tears off of her face. Something told her she was going to change today. The agile girl smirked, her ears perked, tail raised, and leapt off of the building, flipping a few times before landing lightly in an alley.

The strong street-girl felt like herself again; confident, proud, and fiery. She was a wolf, dammit, and she should act like one!

Her stomach rumbled hungrily. She rubbed it and gave food some thought. An idea struck her. _That's perfect_, she thought. _Food and friendly company!_

She knew where she was headed now. Her stomach rumbling, Meija set off for a bakery where she knew 'street-urchins' like herself were welcome. The mildly annoyed wolf rolled her eyes as she though the word. She had to admit though, that the guy who threw the 'poor little homeless girl' out of his bakery had a great alarm system.

Banishing thoughts of her failed robbery (She _had_ gotten the food, but the cops had gotten a picture of her. Not good.) Meija focused for a minute on making her ears and tail disappear, concentrating

Her ears pressed down tightly against her head, blending in with her hair and leaving her with human-like hearing. Her tail curled and twisted in on itself, curling under her shorts and leaving a human-looking girl in their wake. The human-copy-cat nodded in satisfaction as she examined herself in a reflective window.

_Ah, good old illusions_, she thought fondly. _No ears, no tail, no fangs, and_, she examined her fingernails, noting with satisfaction that they were short and rounded, _no claws_.

Whistling, the cheerful 'human' stopped in front of a shop that had a closed sign over the door. Knocking on the glass, Meija leaned her head against the cool clear substance. A woman's voice came from inside. "Closed!" She called.

Meija rolled her eyes and smiled. She knocked again. A cheerful, friendly looking woman poked her head out from around a corner, her mouth opening for what would probably have been a feisty remark. Upon seeing the human-looking wolf, she smiled, her shoulders relaxing.

"Meija!" She exclaimed. Meija rolled her eyes again, playfully and dramatically, before grinning wider. As the woman went to open the door for her little friend, the wolf-girl-in-disguise opened her non-fanged mouth to retort.

"It's only been a week or two; you act like you haven't seen me in years, Annie" she told the older woman. The woman, Annie, good-naturedly nudged her much younger friend, her once-blond hair swinging a bit. She wiped floury hands on her apron.

"I worry about you, kid. It's a dangerous world out on the streets. Why don't you just move in with me already?" the woman's tone was still light, but her marine eyes, eyes that looked so much like her father's, were serious.

Meija felt bad that she had to worry the little-town baker, but couldn't move in with her. It was just too dangerous. She sighed and went to answer her companion, but stopped half-way. Annie's eyes suddenly widened to the size of her cake plates, and Meija was afraid her illusion had suddenly disappeared. _I thought I perfected that trick_, she worried.

Her entire body tensed to bolt, but suddenly Annie was fawning over her. Meija was mystified. _What is she _doing, she wondered. Annie turned her piercing marine eyes to the bewildered street-girl. "What happened to your arm?" She questioned.

_Oh Shit_! Meija silently cursed herself. She had left to go on her little howling spree without changing out of her tank top or grabbing a jacket. _Moron_, she yelled at herself. The horrified wolf allowed herself to be herded into a back room.

Annie unwrapped the wound and examined it. Quirking a brow, she turned to the cryptid-gone-human. Meija prepared herself to tell Annie her entire life story after she questioned her on why there was a _bullet_ in her arm when the cops had shot the wolf just recently. She knew Annie had somehow always suspected it, and now Meija was caught. One of the only people left that she trusted on the face of the Earth was about to turn on her.

* * *

Wolfy: *Evil chuckle* There you have it, my new chapter! Cliffhanger and all.

Meija: *Mortified look* Oh CRAP! Is she gonna find out! What if she does! Oh man, I'm so dead...

Zak: *Evil laugh* And then I, Zak Saturday, shall capture you! Mwuhaha!

Fisk: *Rolls eyes* _Yeah right_.

Annie: Please Read and Review!


	7. Chapter 6: Response

Wolfy: Alright, here I am, and it's time for the next chappie! And here it is, the Response of Annie, and of Zak. Oooh, mystery!

Zak: I know what's gonna happen.

Meija: Me too:

Fiskerton, Zon & Komodo: _We do too!_

Doyle: I'm not in this story, but Wolfy does not own the Secret Saturdays.

* * *

"You let it get infected?" Annie asked, sounding incredulous.

That was not what the wolf had expected. Sputtering, Meija tried desperately to answer but couldn't find words. Annie shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I'll go get my first aid kit." With that out, the woman bustled off, leaving Meija speechless.

When she came back, she cleaned and rewrapped the wound, gave the suddenly ravenous stray some food, and sent her on her way. Meija stopped a little ways down the block and looked back. She wasn't used to having people care about her, and she felt warm inside knowing that someone did. The mid-afternoon sunlight suddenly felt warm against her back.

Smiling, the happy girl turned to walk away, but she tripped over something. Sitting up from where she landed, she looked to see nothing there. Puzzled, she looked all around to see if it had moved. Not a thing that had been close enough at the time to trip her.

She blew a strand of unruly light brown hair out of her face in irritation, then pushed herself off the ground. Something bumped her side so that she fell again, and a shadow blocked out the sun above her. Glaring, she snapped at the stranger, squinting her eyes against the sun. "Well, aren't you going to give me a hand?"

A hand was offered. Grabbing it, she let go as she realized it was furry. Meija had forgotten about those stupid scientists and their monster. Falling again, she scrambled to her feet and stared, terrified, shaking, at the sight in front of her.

It was the seven foot tall Fiskerton. He had a radio in his hand, and he had obviously already used it. The desperate wolf scrambled to her feet, ignoring the pain as she scraped her hands, and whirled to make her escape. She tripped again, and this time she could see what it was.

Some kind of huge lizard stood solidly in front of her, hissing viciously. "_Stop right there, wolf-animal_!" The pedestrians screamed and scattered. Meija's breath hitched in her throat. A huge bird-like thing circled over-head. It looked like another monster.

Meija had one choice. She couldn't use any of her wolfish strength or senses while she was using an illusion, so she did what a wolf had to do. She cancelled it out. Glowing blue for a moment, she closed her eyes and let the magic seep out.

She felt much better as she felt her fingernails lengthen and sharpen, as well as her fangs coming out. She heard the flying creature land nearby as her ears bloomed out of her head, and her balance came back as her tail unfolded itself.

This all happened in a few seconds, like a flash as her wolf-like qualities appeared. They stood perked for a moment as her eyes opened, before her ears folded back, a snarl began forming on her face, her tail bristling to twice its size. Even her hair lifted a little, bristling.

Eyes narrowed, Meija let a thunderous growl roll out of her chest, warning them to leave before things got physical. Fiskerton moved slowly, reaching a hand out. Meija crouched, ever growling, and gave the huge gorilla-cat a flash of her pearly white fangs. _And I'm not afraid to use 'em!_

Zak stood behind him. Meija stared right at the dark-eyed boy, who met her confused look evenly. He reached down and slowly pulled out the Claw. Meija stopped her growling a minute.

The wolf-girl-gone-savage gave him an almost hurt stare, her voice coming out openly bewildered. "I thought we could have been friends." She called. "For some reason, I trusted you. I guess it's not gonna happen, huh? I guess I'll just have to hurt you enough that I can get away from here, and then I'll be home free, right." It wasn't a question as the growl returned to her voice.

The street-wolf was bluffing, and they all knew it. She was going, untrained, against a trained boy who had been hunting cryptids his whole life, and a huge, powerful Fiskerton Phantom, as well as two tough-looking lizards. But her pride wouldn't let her back down, not without a fight.

The orange-clad Saturday boy pointed his Claw at the wolf-girl. Meija watched with irate fascination as his eyes began to glow orange, as well as the bird foot. Was that some sort of weapon, or something? (_Of course, orange though_, she thought, mentally rolling her eyes.)

All of a sudden, she began to feel very, very calm. It was a strange kind of calm, as it felt almost, almost… _forced_. "_We just came to talk_," the boy's voice echoed in her head.

She gave a nod, understanding. _Okay_, she thought slowly. _Okay_.

Zak watched with excitement as her eyes began to glow orange and she responded to his thought of _calm_. She had stopped growling, perked her ears, let the fur on her tail drop, and straightened up. He was ecstatic as she responded to him through thought, and her eyes turned his trademark glowing orange.

She had just looked so human, he doubted his powers would have worked on her. Man, was he wrong, he marveled. He decided to try something. Meija's ears went down, then up again, then down, then up, then down. He tried her tail. It bristled, then relaxed, then went up, the drooped down, then wagged ferociously.

Zak's connection dropped as he grabbed his head in sudden, unexpected pain. Meija shrieked as Komodo bit down hard on her tail, digging his teeth in. Doc, who was a few blocks over looking for his family, heard the scream and took off towards the noise.

When he arrived on the scene, he immediately noticed that Zak was clutching his head, that there was the wolf-girl there, already on scene, and that she was attacking Komodo.

Adding what he had seen up, Doc guessed wrongly that Meija had attacked Zak and was now going after Komodo. "Not _MY_ boys," he roared, swinging his Power Glove into the ground. It shot a sonic vibration right at the animalistic cryptid girl.

Meija, hearing the man's battle cry, turned her head to see what was going on, turning her attention away from the lizard she had previously been slashing at. The sonic blast caught her just perfectly, swirling her vision and throwing her into the air, as well as canceling out her hearing with a horrid ringing noise. She opened her mouth in a silent shriek as the ringing turned into ripping pain.

Meija gave a pained yelp as she landed, winded, on her belly. She groaned slightly. Her vision was still blurry, and her ears were ringing so loud it hurt to just _move_ them, but she was terrified.

She'd never seen power like that before. And she had just gone blank for a minute before that stupid lizard bit her. She felt so _confused_. What had just happened? _I have to leave; fighting them was a bad idea._

Meija got onto unsteady feet and began to stumble for a minute. Shaking her head, she reopened her eyes. The wolf-girl was gaining her sight back. _Run!_ She took off, down the street in plain sight instead of taking an alley-way, still injured and confused.

Zak looked up, feeling the pain recede, and found a sight that made him want to scream in frustration. _Why does this always happen_, the boy wondered in irritation as he ran and yelled for his dad not to swing again. The man turned to his son. "Zak," he called. "What happened?"

Now Zak _really_ wanted to scream. "Later," he said as he bolted past, after the wolf-girl, who was still fast, but considerably slower than before. His brows furrowed in determination, he decided right then and there, that he was going to catch the werewolf girl. _I haven't been this determined about a cryptid since Fiskerton_, he mused to himself as he followed her…

* * *

Wolfy: And that was my newest chapter.

Zak: Crap, she escaped! Bad komodo dragon!

Komodo: _Hisss_!

Doyle: I'm back again, please read and reveiw!

Annie: I'm here too! *Sees Doyle* Who's this handsome man. *Seductive wink*

Doyle: *Gulp*


	8. Chapter 7: The Fights and the Friends

Wolfy: Hey ya'll, I decided to post another chapter, but I'm falling behind in my writing so I probably won't post again for a while after this. I chose this chapter to stop at cause it's one of my favorites that I've written so far, so enjoy!

Zak: ...Ya'll?

Wolfy: *Glare*

Zak: *Raises hands in defeat* Whatever.

Meija: Hah, I kick some butt in this chapter. SCREW YOU, LOSER FIGHTER GUYS!

Fiskerton:_ Shush_!

Meija: Yeah, yeah, shut up, I get it fuzzy monkey.

Beeman: Stop quoting me! That's my nickname!

Beeman: *Looks around, belatedly realizing where he is* ...Uh, Wolfy does not own the Secret Saturdays?

Zak: *Inches out of room quietly, escaping Beeman's presence*

Wolfy: Oh yeah! Just to warn you readers, this chapter has some more swearing.

* * *

Meija bolted through the streets, sprinting blindly for her home, the one place she felt safe. Her ears were still painfully ringing when the impaired pre-teen got hit. She stumbled and fell, letting out a loud, almost dog-like yelp as she hit the ground. _What was that_, she questioned. It had felt like someone had thrown a rock at her head.

Turning her head, she saw what looked like a wannabe small town gang of high-school kids she saw occasionally. They had bothered her for quite some time, that is, until their gang leader had jumped her and she'd knocked him out.

Had her head not felt like it was ripping apart at the time, she would have laughed at the memory. Instead, with her head throbbing from the god awful ringing in her head, she lay where she had fallen. She crossly remembered the Fourth of July fireworks. It had been almost the same then. _Stupid, sensitive hearing_, she growled mentally. Although, essentially, this was a bit different.

She could see the feet of all seven of the boys headed this way, and their excited shouting.

"We hit 'er! We hit 'er!" Exclaimed one, while another congratulated the kid who threw the rock for his 'nice shot.'

_It's not so nice to me!_

The weak wolf-girl wanted to snarl. One of the braver boys jabbed her ribs painfully with his foot as the group got close. The others spoke loudly about possible rewards and recognition.

Meija glared up at the boy who had his foot dug into her side. Groaning slightly, she rolled just enough to get away from the offending foot. "Jab me again," the wolf had resorted to threatening. Meija mentally wrinkled her nose in disgust_. I used to be able to intimidate people easy_, she thought bitterly before continuing her threat on the boy.

"Jab me again, and you won't have a foot anymore. I'll chew it right off." She wondered if her ploy would work, though she doubted she looked anywhere near strong enough to bite his foot off. _Dear Luna, like I'd even do that if I was well enough! Gross!_

The boys all snickered. "Yeah right, mutt," jibed one, before he dug his feet roughly into her ribs again. Meija gritted her teeth in an effort not to yelp. She wouldn't give these boys the pleasure of seeing her weak. She'd fight until she couldn't move. _And then I'll probably die or something_.

Determination sparking her body, she flipped over a landed on all fours, her tail in the air, her ears sharply facing the group. They did exactly what she wanted them to.

Leaping about three feet in the air, they all jumped back in fright. One quickly grabbed a large stick off the ground, and wielding it like a club, he stepped forward menacingly. Meija let a snarl form on her face, giving them all an eyeful of her two inch fangs. He seemed unaffected by this show.

The boy swung his weapon up, giving the girl a split second to decide her plan of action. The girl had two choices. _I can run away_, she thought. _Or I can stay and fight._

She leapt.

Tackling the teenager's middle, Meija dug her fangs into the arm that held his club at the same moment she gored his belly with her claws. Blood exploded in her mouth. She had the sickening feeling of satisfaction as it happened, as well.

The boy yelled in pain, dropping his club. Another teen scooped up his stick, and swung it hard at her. Dropping off of the bigger gangster, she watched with approval as he dropped like a rock as wood connected with flesh.

The smaller gang-member looked in horror at the larger boy as he lay on the ground, his breathing deep and slow. She took this chance to jump forward and twist his arm behind him, wrenching his wrist until the bones in his arm ground into each other. He cried out and dropped the club to the ground.

Swinging him into an oncoming boy with fists bared, Meija watched with satisfaction as they both crashed into a dumpster, hitting their heads and falling to the asphalt. Neither got up. Her throat seized and suddenly gave a raw cough. "Dammit," she cursed, her breathing coming in raggedly, sweat forming on her forehead.

_This is nothing, and I'm already so tired I could collapse_, she thought with dread. _And there are still three boys who want to beat me half to death and then sell me to the scientists_. This was not looking good for the stray. Suddenly something dawned on the girl. _Three? There should be four of them left…_

Meija screamed as the club the first boy had grabbed met her ribs with a nauseating crack. Her body giving out, she dropped to the ground, cradling her wounded ribs, looking up at her missing fourth boy. "Chew this, bitch," he growled, raising the club. And this time, Meija had no energy to even run._ I'm so dead_.

_But he doesn't know that_.

Brown eyes glared defiantly up at him, showing him no fear, not even batting an eyelid. The exhausted street-girl braced herself for the impact and the pain when something amazing happened. As he brought it down at her head, what looked like the claws of a bird grabbed the club and swung it out of the teenager's hands.

He looked as amazed as she did. Meija flicked her ears towards where the claw had come from and found that all three other boys were knocked out and Fiskerton and Zak were standing there smugly. Zak had a mischievous glint in his eyes, and Fiskerton had a smug, furry smile on his face.

"What was that last comment?" He asked cheerfully, laughing as the gang-boy turned tail and ran. Fiskerton called something, probably a lame insult, but the injured girl couldn't hear it, for her head was spinning again. _I'm gonna barf_!

The wolf groaned and dropped her head against the cooling asphalt. She wondered what time it was, just noticing that it was dusk, and nearly dark. She let her consciousness go for a minute, listening to panicked voices in the background before they faded away.

Zak watched happily as the skinny boy who'd been about to swing a stick at Meija's _head_, ran for his life down the street, his sun-glasses abandoned on the side-walk. Fiskerton shouted after him, although he knew the regular human boy probably wouldn't understand him. "_You'd better run_!"

Zak laughed again and high fived his brother and best friend, before a pained groan caught his attention, followed by some airy whimpers that sounded exactly like an animal's would. He looked for Meija, only to see the wolf-girl lying half-in and half-out of a pool of street-light. _Is she dead?_

He ran for her fallen form, but Fiskerton reached her first, crouching at her side and speaking quickly, as well as nudging her unresponsive form.

Zak skidded on his knees as he dove next to his brother. They were both speaking rapidly now.

"Meija, Meija are you okay? That's a dumb question; of course you're not okay! Meija, at least wake up and make fun of me!" He gave a breath of relief after checking her pulse to see it was fine to his relief. It was picking up a bit, so she should wake up soon. And for all the dramatics, he really was relieved that she was okay.

Fiskerton gave some dramatic gasps and sighs right along with him, knowing she was okay. The wolf-girl stirred and growled exasperatedly, though weakly. "Would you two shut up," snarled the weak girl. "And help me up. I gotta get home before I die."

Zak made a move to pull her up but Fisk waved him away. "Wait," the spiky-haired boy complained, his voice cracking again. Zak cringed before clearing his voice and continuing on in a lower pitch. "What are you doing?"

Fiskerton grabbed the girl and pulled her up into his arms, so that she was draped across the front of them. "Good," she nodded sleepily, all the fight gone out of her. _Besides_, she mused, _I trust them, for some strange reason_. "I'll lead the way. We'll be home in no time."

And she did. Guiding them through the streets, the girl nodded off as they entered the first, dusty room of her home, Zak and Fiskerton jabbering to her all the way…

* * *

Wolfy: And there you have it. ha was actually a fun chapter to write, and it all just flowed to me so easily.

Zak: Yeah! We kicked some butt, eh Fisk!

Fiskerton: Yeah! *High fives Zak*

Meija: *Yawn* I'm beat. *sudden realization, then evil snicker* Get it, beat?

Drew, Doc & Doyle: *Groan* Please read and review.


	9. Chapter 8: Mortification

Wolfy: Hey lovely people, here is my next chapter!

Zak: *Reads* It's so short!

Wolfy: *Sweatdrop* Yeah, sorry about that. Oh, but I'm uploading pic's of Meija to my profile on deviantART soon, so keep an eye out for them.

Meija: Pictures of me? Cool.

Saturdays: What about us?

Wolfy: Uh, I don't own the Secret Saturdays! *Runs away*

* * *

Zak and Fiskerton Saturday tried vainly not to let their giggles bubble out of their mouths. The two boys, crouched half-way through a crack in some wall in a random, broken-down house in nowhere, were watching their new friend dance around her room and sing to a song that they both knew well.

It was on the radio all the time now, and though the singer in question was very good, for whatever reason, it was just really, really hilarious. They began to snort as they arduously tried to contain their giggles.

"_This is, the story of a girl_," the oblivious wolf sang, the headphones to her iPod slipped into her large, furry animal ears. She twirled around and danced as she sang, giving the boys' glimpses of the bandages that wrapped her form.

"_Who cried a river and drowned the whole world_!" Meija continued.

"_It fits her, in some weird way_," Fiskerton gave a lop-sided smile with his cheeks puffed full of laughter, whispering through his giggles and snorts of mirth. Zak nodded, agreeing, and then choked as the girl twirled by her banged up dresser, grabbed a hairbrush, and began to use it as a microphone.

"I'm gonna join in!" Zak told his brother playfully. It was Fiskerton's turn to choke. They both ducked in synch as the girl turned suspiciously to look in their direction. Shrugging, she went back to her song. They leaned back to their previous positions.

"_This is_," the stray began the chorus again. Zak leapt into action, out of his hiding place.

"… _The story of a girl_!" Zak exclaimed, before bursting into howling laughter. Fiskerton rolled on the ground and howled behind him, tears of mirth sliding down his cream fur.

Meija swirled around so fast her iPod flew out of her pocket, she tripped over the wire, got the ear-buds yanked out of her sensitive ears, the wire got wrapped around her bare ankles, and she fell on her tail. The stunned brunette wolf sat there for a moment, stunned, before a bright blush spread across her cheeks like a cherry red wildfire.

"How long were you standing there," the mortified orphan squeaked, her blush burning her cheeks as the two, at least half, cryptid teens guffawed.

Fiskerton was in _pain_ he was laughing so hard. "_Long enough_!" The huge gorilla-cat gasped. The furry monster began feel himself calming down, and watched in amusement as Zak continued to howl.

Meija turned her steel-melting glare on the spiky-haired pre-teen in question. Snarling, she threw the brush as hard as she could at the back of his bi-colored head. The missile hit it's mark.

Zak yelped as he tumbled onto the floor from the bean-bag he'd collapsed on, clutching the lump on the back of his head. Ruffling his star-shaped hair, the boy gave a half-hearted glare at the, still slightly red, smug Meija. "Note" she said, pointing a finger at the ceiling. "My philosophy is this; anything thrown hard enough should hurt." She grinned, flashing her fangs.

"Ow," the boy whined. "Why'd you do that? You knew we were coming; we have for the past three days. Why do something funny if you knew we were gonna show up?" He grumbled. "To torture us?"

The wolf rolled her hazel eyes. "Sure, that's exactly what I was doing. You foiled my evil plot," she deadpanned.

Zak suddenly remembered something. "You should be nicer, or else we won't share our food with you," he told the cryptid. Meija suddenly became defensive.

"Who said I needed your pity food! I don't, I've got my own food!" She snarled defensively. Zak raised his hands palms up in surrender and stepped back.

"Hey, hey! Easy there, girl. Down," He joked, his mouth curved into a smile, his shoulders relaxed leisurely. The girl glared.

"I guess I won't show you that fun thing I was going to today," she shot back.

Fiskerton chuckled while Zak gave another, this time impressed, smile. "Then I guess we understand each other," he joked as he pulled out the contents of the bag of food he had brought.

Fiskerton sat in the bean-bag across from Zak, and Meija trotted over and plopped into the seat between them.

The wolf-girl hadn't told them, but she hadn't eaten at all the day before because she really _was_ out of food, and though a wolf could go up to two weeks without anything, it wasn't very healthy or comfortable. She'd nearly gone the limit once or twice before. She grimaced at the memory before grabbing the biggest sandwich the boy had brought. Fiskerton grumbled a bit, but made no move to snatch it back.

Finishing the sandwich, devouring a bag of chips, and chugging the can of soda he had given her, the stray stood and stretched, her tail extended to as far as it would go, her whole back giving cracks and pops. Zak and Fiskerton stared.

"How do you eat that fast?" Zak questioned in awe. Meija glanced at him.

"I'm a wolf," she answered simply. Zak quirked an eyebrow. Meija's eyebrows disappeared into her hairline.

"You really don't know anything about wolves!" The wolf cried in surprise. Zak and Fiskerton both shook their heads. Meija groaned in exasperation. "And you went after a wolf without knowing anything about them?" The two boys nodded this time, every move in synch.

Meija huffed and shook her head. "Hopeless," she informed them. The dark-eyed boy rolled his eyes as the red-eyed phantom crossed his arms.

"Whatever," the spiky haired boy waved her off. "When are we gonna do that fun thing you were talking about?" He questioned, his eyes sparking in excitement. Fiskerton nodded eagerly, leaning closer to the street-smart girl. She grinned.

"How do you guys feel about golf…?"

* * *

Meija: *Blush* I DID NOT ACTUALLY DO THAT, I JUST...

Zak: *Snigger* You did so, don't deny it.

Meija: ...I'm giving you three seconds to run. One...

Zak: Meija? Meija, take it easy, it was just a joke...

Meija: Two...

Zak: RUN! *Runs away*

Meija: THREE! *Runs after Zak, claws bared*

Wolfy: *Sweatdrop* Uh-huh. Well, please read and review, if you don't, Meija will probably tear Zak into little Kur shreds.


	10. Chapter 9: Attack

Wolfy: Here we are, the next chappie of my mediocre story! I won't be able to post the chapter after htis one for a while though, so don't expect it soon.

Meija: Hey, why keep all your adoring fans waiting? Don't like all the attention I'm getting?

Zak: Hey, in case you haven't noticed, this is a _Secret Saturdays_ story, and _I'm_ a Saturday. This story's about me!

Fiskerton:_ And me_!

Wolfy: Aww! Your all like siblings now! That's so cute!

Meija, & Zak: We are not!

Fiskerton: _Chuckle_

Meija, & Zak: **Stomps off**

Fiskerton, & Wolfy: Wolfy does not own the Secret Saturdays!

* * *

Fiskerton and Zak Saturday crept along a row of freshly-cut, neon green hedges behind their new wolf friend, Meija, and wondered what they were doing sneaking around a golf course. Zak blew his silver bangs back into place in irritation, knocking some of the bright leaves tangled in them loose, as Fiskerton rubbed the watery red eye that just got poked by a purple thorned branch. The stray girl suddenly stopped in front of them. "Here it is," Meija murmured.

Zak and Fiskerton peered over her shoulder to see what she was talking about. All they saw was a shed, with the typical locked plastic doors and red brick walls. "_A shed?_" Fiskerton voiced, the strange, not-human noise questioning.

The orange clad boy beside him was irate. "What'd you bring us to a stupid shed for?" He didn't like getting poked by too-bright bushes and hunching over to see a shed in the middle of a stupid golf course. He _hated_ golf, now thinking about it. Too boring for his tastes.

Instead of answering, the girl shushed them and began to stare in a very focused way at the shed. She sat like that for a whole minute, just staring, ears twisting to listen in every which way; like radars. Zak and Fiskerton were mystified. Then the thief moved back a little, more out of sight of the lone building.

"You'll see what we came here for in a minute, but first I have to explain to you a little bit about wolves." The street girl told them, glaring pointedly at Zak for his snappiness and unknowledgeable… ness, about wolves. "We wolves have what you humans call sensory memories." She paused, but then continued to explain after the blank look the two mini scientists gave her. "This means that we have great memories for recalling our surroundings. If anything changes in a way that is not natural, or that wouldn't normally happen, then we automatically notice without having to try."

The orphan nodded her head towards the little red shed. "The guy in charge around here added a security system; but I noticed the subtle differences. You know, that's probably how wolves survived hunting," Meija added the last part absently, remembering reading somewhere that wolves were once almost hunted to extinction. Not a happy thought.

She gave the two bewildered boys a wicked grin. "Watch this though," the cunning wolf told them, pointing to a mini camera that was set in the wall. Zak squinted, but the sharp-eyed boy could only see it because of the tiny blinking red light in the corner of the lens that meant it was on and recording. Fiskerton's mouth dropped as Meija picked up a small stone.

"_How did she even notice that_?" he asked his brother, watching as the devious girl threw a rock so that it landed in the bushes a little farther down in the hedge. Zak shook his head as the lenses of the camera focused on that bush. Meija jumped up and threw a rock so hard it cracked the glass and jammed the camera. Her tail gave a wag of satisfaction, a fang poking roguishly out of the sly smile on her face.

The crafty stray waltzed over to the shed and threw it open. Turning to them the fugitive announced "Behold! This is what I do in my spare time." The two cryptid hunting boys leaned over her shoulder to see shiny, expensive looking golf carts. The sun shone on them like a spotlight. "So, have you guys ever jumped a golf cart?"

Zak cheered as he soared threw the air and landed, bouncing and leaning, in a sand pit, his golf cart skidding to a stop and spraying sand all over the spiky, bright green grass. Meija came over next, her golf cart's wheels spinning in midair, and landed behind him, with Fisk in dead last.

Meija groaned and let her head drop on the wheel, causing a beep to sound out of the small vehicle. Her ears and tail had been safely tucked away. "I can't believe I lost the race," she groaned. Zak opened his mouth to retort with some egoistic comment, but another voice interrupted them. A female voice. A very familiar female voice.

"Well, if it isn't little Zak and Fiskerton. Still causing trouble, I see." All three teens looked up. A woman in a gray-blue jump-suit floated above them, her wild black hair leaping out of the creepy steel mask that covered her face. Her red, metallic eyes gave nothing away as she hung in midair, though the two brothers' knew her.

Zak pulled the Claw out as Fiskerton growled. Meija looked on, confused at this strange new turn of events.

"Abbey," The Kur-boy growled. "What do you want?" The woman gave an innocent laugh. "Oh Zak, you never change. But to tell the truth, I actually came here for your little wolf cryptid. There," she pointed one gloved finger directly at Meija. The girl in question's breath hitched in her throat.

"M-me? But I'm, I'm n-not," the girl tried desperately to deny it, but she was just caught so off guard. The woman laughed again, an innocent enough sound.

"Oh, don't even try to deny it, wolf. I know who you are, so why don't you just come with me willingly? I don't bite," Her voice was sweet, but Meija's instincts were screaming danger.

That was only solidified when Fiskerton and Zak stepped in front of her protectively. She stepped up to stand next to them, and let her illusion cancel out, showing the woman who she truly was, her face twisting into that ever present snarl she always wore.

"How about not," she called back, her voice easily as sickeningly sweet as this _Abbey_ woman's. The mercenary seemed to take this as a challenge.

"All right, then," she told them, pulling something out of her pockets. She flashed them a look before throwing the objects. "How about I change your mind!" she roared before throwing the small devices.

Fiskerton gave the warning. "_Concussion Grenades_," he yelled, diving out of the way. Zak and Meija leapt after him, fluidly dodging the raining explosions and landing next to the cowering phantom. They rolled, together, and used the momentum to rise to their feet without stopping. Debris of flying rocks, pebbles, and clots of dirt flew up around them, shrouding their escape with destruction.

They continued to run, Fisk on their heels, until the trio reached the shack where they had stolen the carts from. Ducking around the corner with the two cryptids', Zak kept his eyes peeled for Abbey while he told his brother and the wolf-girl his plan.

Abbey had suspiciously disappeared, and Zak had a bad feeling about it. "We're gonna make sure it's clear, and then make a break for the airship. We'll get mom and dad to help when we get there, okay?"

Fiskerton nodded, but Meija was adamant. "No! I'm not crawling to those scientists for help…!"

"Excuse me, but _those scientists_ are my parent's, and …!"

"_Guys, we have to get going_…!"

A beam of some kind of energy gun hit the earth next to the arguing trio, who all let out surprised yells and threw up their arms to block the flying rocks and shrapnel from hitting their faces or necks. "Sorry to interrupt, but I need the wolf now," the offending shooter told them. "Time is money, you know." Meija hated how much she liked the woman's accent.

Fisk growled, motioning for Zak and Meija to run as he stepped over them. "But Fisk," the dark-eyed boy started, letting some very un-masculine sounding worry seep into his voice. Fiskerton shook his fury head.

"_Now!_" He told them. The cryptid then tackled the woman straight out of the air. Abbey kicked and fought before giving the large phantom a shock with something that looked shadily like a Taser. "_She wants Meija, remember, not me!_" Zak nodded. Meija turned and began to run.

"We'll be back soon, buddy," the cryptid tamer told his brother before taking off after the wolf girl. They were almost out of the golf course before they both realized their arms were bleeding from the flying rocks and shrapnel. Meija was used to it, but Zak rarely got hit this badly, with shards imbedded all up and down his arms. Blood flowed as the boy slowed.

The swift wolf girl noticed he was dropping behind as they scrambled through the first few streets outside the course. "Come on," she called, grabbing his hand with her own and pulling him with her through the paved road. Both of them ignored the terrified looks passing civilians gave them.

"You have to tell me where I'm going, I have no idea where this airship thing is!" Zak directed her through two more streets before more bombs began to downpour on them. They looked back to see the mercenary on their tail again, her jet-back's flames making it look like the devil was on their heels. Meija cursed. "Go away, god dammit!"

Abbey laughed as Zak blanched. The boy hadn't known she swore!

"Such words for a little girl," she called. "Didn't your mother teach you any better? Oh wait, she's dead," the woman goaded, shifting through her clothes for more weapons. Meija slowed and stopped in her tracks, shoulders hunched, fists clenched, her bangs overshadowing her eyes. She stood completely still. Zak had a feeling of foreboding.

"Come on, we have to keep going, we're almost there! She hunts people for a living, she's going to goad you, but we have to keep going," Zak whispered frantically. Abbey floated above them, content to play with her prey before she killed it. Or captured it. Whatever she had been sent to do.

"What, did I hit a nerve, mutt? You a little momma's girl? Maybe you were a daddy's girl, but he's dead too, isn't he? They're both probably rotting in the dirt somewhere, forgotten." The woman just kept going. Meija couldn't take it_. _

_**I'm going to kill her!**_

The wolf pivoted on her heel, crouched, and shot into the air, bulleting toward the stunned, floating woman, wind whistling through her ears. Abbey was completely unprepared for the attack. _How did she jump that high_? Meija grabbed onto the woman's shirt collar and began to try and claw at her. The con just barely blocked the first few slashes. Meija decided to try a new tactic.

The girl drew her fist back. "Don't ever talk about my parents like that!" She shrieked, before throwing her fist towards the steel mask as hard as she could. Fist met with steel with a nauseating crack, and the mask broke into three pieces before falling away. The rapidly tiring girl cradled the fist she had broken the mask with, watching it become discolored.

With Abbey momentarily stunned, the jet-pack on her back flew out of control, throwing Meija into the air. Then gravity kicked in.

Zak, who hadn't been able to do anything until this point, pointed his Claw at the falling Meija. Shooting the Hand of 'Tsul Kalu on the end, he watched as it grabbed the collar of her shirt, and yanked his arm so that she was flying towards him. Claw still attached and all.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," he whimpered as the girl barreled into him full force, knocking both of them tumbling across the broken, chipped, and blackened asphalt until they rolled to a stop. Both knew that they would have a collection of bruises and scrapes when this was done, at the very least.

Zak groaned and leaned up. He looked over at Meija, who also groaned and leaned so that she could see better and begin to rise to her feet. "You okay," he asked.

"I'm fine," she assured him though he knew she wasn't. "You?"

He shrugged. He looked around for Abbey, but found that she was nowhere in sight. "Come on, let's get outta here before she shows up again," the bi-color haired boy said, pushing himself to his feet. He dusted himself off and offered the stray a hand up.

She waved the hand off and pulled herself up, only using one hand. Zak's eyes narrowed. "What happened to your other hand," he asked guardedly. Meija hid the hand so that he couldn't see it.

"Nothing," she told him. She made a move to leave. "Come on, let's go before that witch shows …" Meija never got to finish her sentence. A sharp sound rang out; a sound that resembled a shot-gun, and unexpectedly a net flew out of nowhere and crashed into Meija, effectively trapping her. She snarled and tried to stand, but the weights on the end trapped her while the net entangled her. She crashed back to the ground.

Abbey flew up, one cheek bruised, the other scraped, a venomous glare lighting her eyes. "Get out of that," she snarled the wolf girl. "It's made out of steel coils, especially for _animals_ like yourself. Struggle, and we'll see what happens."

* * *

Wolfy: And that is the chapter! I introduced one of the main enemies, so the story'll pick up soon!

Meija: Crap! That BITCH! I'LL GET HER! **Growl**

Zak: Where's Fiskerton

Meija: He'll be fine.

Zak He better be, Wolfy. **Glare**

Wolfy: Uh, **Glances around nervously**. Read and Review!


	11. Chapter 10: Clashes and Brawls

Wolfy: Hey there people! **Nervously looks around** I'm so sorry that I've been gone for so long, but, as many of you probably already know, I spilled a soda on my laptop and shorted it out. Taking forever to fix, so I'm just using the big computers that my family owns. This will still be hard, so updates will be less frequent because I travel back and fourth between my Mom and Dad's houses every week a couple times a week. **Sigh** Anyways...

Zak: Enough about you already! We don't care, just get back on with the story!

Wolfy: You don't mean that? **Sniffle**

Meija: Wow Zak, that's harsh. It's actually sounding like some reckless, thoughtless comment I would make, and that's saying something!

Zak: Wolfy does not own Secret Saturdays!

Meija glared at the dark haired woman, who was slowly descending to pick up her prize. Meija snarled at her, but didn't struggle any more than she had initially. She could feel the electrical currents running in the coils through her fur, and knew that if she struggled as bad as she wanted to, she'd get shocked enough to make her teeth ache, the metal amplifying the electrical charge.

Zak began to sprint in their direction, but Abbey casually threw a couple of something that looked like beads in his path. They hit the ground and exploded into thick, choking, dense smoke.

Meija's confidence dropped. A wolf belongs in a pack, and without Zak's, (albeit _new_,) moral support, Meija felt doomed against this mercenary. She'd never taken on anything other than your typical street thugs, and this woman was _trained_ to hunt creatures like her. Her ears went back, and her tail tucked itself between her legs as Abbey Grey grabbed the net and began to lift the girl into the air, a pleased look on her lovely face.

Meija could suddenly feel Zak's presence. It was strange. It calmed her, the same forced calm, but calm nonetheless. Meija could think again. Zak's voice echoed around her head again. _Relax, I'm coming_ _to break you out_.

Meija, now able to think, shook her head. That wouldn't be fast enough. _She's taking me away and the net is electrically charged so_… Meija suddenly sparked an idea. _If I get shocked, then she'll get shocked too_!

Zak's voice came again, this time forceful. _**No!**_ Meija acknowledged the command, though had she not been controlled she would have done it anyways. Suddenly, through the thick smoke, came the same Claw.

It grabbed Abbey's hand, wrenched it so that she dropped the net, and threw the light-eyed woman off-balance. She disappeared into the smoke, once again, out of sight. It felt more unpredictable and foreboding that way, with her lurking around out of sight.

Meija dropped through the air, not quite sure how close to the ground she was. She began to flip so that she would land on her feet, twisting her tail appropriately to propel herself through the air, but the earth suddenly appeared underneath her.

Meija yowled as her shoulder smacked against the rock of street beneath her, the net shocking her as well. She shot off of the net, and rammed into something furry that caught her. She bared her claws and looked up to see concerned red eyes. "Fiskerton?" She questioned, letting her hands relax. It was the phantom. He was scratched and a bit bloody, but was otherwise fine.

"_Hey,_" he said. "_Zak's looking for us. Let's go_," he ushered her out of the smoke, and into the sunlight. She squinted against the light, but was able to make out both Zak and Fiskerton. The stray twitched her ears, listening to the smoke-screen behind her. The orphan shot the two boys a panicked look at what she heard.

"Abbey's still looking for us in the smoke-screen! We have to go now," she cried before grabbing a hand on each and taking off down the street. Fiskerton noticed the discoloration and strange angle of her right hand.

"_Is your hand okay_," Fisk asked the panting girl concernedly. She didn't answer, merely continued running, her breath coming in short gasps. They ran through the streets, which quickly thinned out then became dirt.

Zak began to point excitedly at something orange in the distance. "It's the airship!" He called. The wolf girl dilated her pupils, zooming her sight in to see better.

_What a gaudy looking thing_, Meija thought in distaste. The trio ran up to the metal ramp, but that's where the injured wolf girl stopped. The two boys continued half-way up the ramp, and then stopped to look back at their friend.

"Come on, Abbey could show up any minute!" Zak cried, urging the wolf forward. She shook her head and stared, terrified, at the ship. The dark-eyed boy could see the mercenary headed this way, flying above the trees. Zak snarled and pulled the Claw out. Pointing it at the girl, he commanded her to come.

_Now_!

Just as Abbey appeared, Meija shot up the ramp, her hair flaring behind her. In a fit of frustration, the woman threw more grenades, this time electrified, which exploded right on Meija's heels.

She, who because of her being controlled, didn't have the consciousness to dodge them. She flew into the ship over the two boys' heads, both of whom also went skidding into their travel home as well, their hair fried and sticking up in strange angles and spikes.

The hydraulic doors slid shut behind the fried trio, trapping Meija in a world of scientists and metal. The petrified girl shot to her feet, her hair standing on end, her tail straight out and bristled, her body stiff, her nose scrunched. But her teeth weren't showing.

_That's a good sign, right_, Zak wondered as he examined her reaction from his place on the metallic panels of the floor beneath him. He frowned.

_You know, I might be able to tell better if I could see her upright_.

With that thought, he rolled onto his belly and crouched to stand up, Fiskerton groaning on the cold gray paneled floor next to him.

Abruptly, but predictably, after a huge explosion like that one, the doors on the far side of the hanger slid open to reveal Zak's parents. His half-blind father held a cortex disrupter, while his mother crouched in the doorway, a net-shooter held in her arms. Same scenario as the smokescreen; a sudden sharp sound, a slight swish of air as the net flies, a yelp as it barrels into Meija, and a thump as she hits the silver, metallic wall behind her and slides to the floor.

The furious street wolf began to struggle violently, sensing that this net is not electrified, but stopped abruptly, hissing in pain. Zak and Fiskerton leapt into action as Zon and Komodo entered the room, come to see what all the commotion was about. "_Wait, stop_!" Fiskerton frantically called, scooping up Komodo, who was headed with a vengeance towards the netted wolf.

Zak ran over to Meija and used the Claw to begin cutting the hopelessly tangled and irritated wolf out of the web of netting, twisting and pulling and cutting. Fiskerton began to tell Doc and Drew about Meija in the background as the stray tried to help Zak pull herself free. The scientists nodded and shot glances in her direction.

"This sucks," she muttered to the Kur-boy, glancing uneasily towards the adult scientists and angry dragon. Zak didn't say anything, merely gave a last tug with the Claw, and the mesh fell away.

The girl shot to her feet and was by the charred door where she entered in a second, Zak's surprised yelp behind her. Tugging at the metal uselessly, Meija caught sight of the little door control panel and began to hit as many buttons as she could to try and get the door open. When that didn't work, she whirled around and surveyed her situation, her blood pounding through her ears, her entire body tense. Her tail stuck straight out behind her.

Fiskerton turned and began to head in Meija's direction as Zak ran over to stand next to her supportively, his parents behind the big furry gorilla cat. A growl began to form in Meija's throat.

Komodo, still in Fisk's grip, hissed, whipping his tail into the phantom's ribs, and squirming out of his grip. "_Yowch_!" Fisk yelps, rubbing the offending area. Komodo turns and leaps with lightning speed for Meija, hissing viciously.

"_Rematch, wolf animal!_" The emerald scaled lizard growls, tackling the wolf. The two tumble around the room, a hissing growling ball of fury, claws, fangs, and insults as the rest of the Saturday family yells and leaps out of the way.

"Stupid overgrown snake!" Meija snarls, biting down on the dragon's front leg. They roll past Doc, who makes an angry grab but misses.

"_Stray mutt_," Komodo retorts, flexing his claws and cutting the girl's cheek. She lets go, but a bite mark is left behind, the scales leaking droplets of blood. Drew ducks as Komodo's tail whips around, narrowly missing clubbing her head.

"Pathetic gecko," the stray digs her claws into the lizard's tail, her broken hand tucked away and out of harm. Fiskerton dives out of the way as the quarreling duo roll by, the fur flying.

"_Useless dog_!" The reptile flips his tail out of the vicious cryptids grip and pins her to the floor. Doc's headed this way, ready to break up the fight as Zak runs towards them from the opposite direction, Claw already beginning to glow. Meija snarls and kicks her knees up, sending them both tumbling around the room again.

Komodo snaps his tail around again and it brushes the broken hand, then smacks into the burnt shoulder she landed on as she fell on the net earlier that day, right before she ran into Fisk. The battered street girl opens her mouth and lets out a horrible wail of agony, tears gathering behind her eyes.

Meija's eyes screw shut, tears gathering like raindrops in the corners, her ears flattened so hard against her skull she looks human. Her tail, only a moment ago bristled to twice its size, is now so far between her legs it's almost flattened against her belly.

She's gone from a snarling, wild creature to a small, injured, cornered creature, and nobody is sure what's worse or more unpredictable.

Meija: Wow, what a beautiful ending metaphor for myself.

Wolfy: Thank you!

Zak: I kinda liked it too.

Meija: Can no one sense my sarcasm!

Zak & Wolfy: Nope! **Grin**

Komodo: _Read and Review_!


	12. Chapter 11: Concern

Wolfy: Alright, my second chapter of the day!

Everyone: Hooray!

Wolfy: I love the scene near the bottom of this page! I can't tell you which scene now, it would spoil it, but I'll make sure to mention it next chapter, and you guy's can tell me which scene was your favorite from this chapter!

Argost: Wolfy does not own the Secret Saturdays, heh heh heh...

Zak is only a few feet away now. He opens his mouth in a furious roar at his reptilian brother. "Komodo! _Stop!_" He yells, worried about Meija, who is leaned over her broken hand and is close to crying. The dragon steps back, guiltily avoiding the girl crouched on the floor near him.

The rest of the Saturday family gathers around the girl. Meija whimpers a little as Zak hesitantly reaches out to inspect her hand. "Don't worry about it," he consoles her, his voice soft spoken, as though he's talking to a cornered or injured animal.

And in a way, he is.

"I'm not gonna hurt you or anything." He continues his inspection. He turns to his mom, Drew Saturday. "It's definitely broken," he tells her hesitantly. Before she can speak, Meija stands up.

"It's not broken," she snaps, fangs flashing, voice thicker than usual. "It's just bruised is all." With that said, she heads towards the doors, leaving the Saturdays crouched behind her incredulously. Zak opens his mouth to say something, beginning to stand, but snaps it shut again, having changed his mind last minute.

Giving a sigh and running a bloody hand threw his hair, Zak opens his mouth one more time. "Please don't leave," he begs the girl quietly, his voice pleading. "You're hurt and Abbey is still out there, looking for you for who knows what reason. I don't really want you to leave anyways," he tells her.

Meija stopped and looked back, her brows down in a half-glare. "How do I know you're crazy scientist parents won't experiment on me or something," she all but snarls. And she's totally serious.

Zak tried. He really did. He just couldn't help it.

He burst out laughing.

"Y-You think my, my parents are…!" Meija stared incredulously at the roaring boy on the floor, and slowly begins smile, then chuckle, and to laugh too, until tears are streaming down both of their cheeks. Doc and Drew smile, their eyes glued to the duo, and Fiskerton chuckles, just once.

And her decision is made without her even saying a word.

Following Zak and Drew down the metallic halls of her new, temporary, home, Meija is mystified and curious and wary all at the same time. Sniffing here and there, and poking her head into the occasional open doorway, she darts back and forth and all over the place to give an experimental sniff or once over.

The floors are a clean, tiled slate blue, the lights are set into the walls at an angle, she's pretty sure you can take out the ceiling plates, and there are vents scattered here and there. Meija wondered where they led. There are also openings in the wall paneling, showing varying sized metal pipes, and the same control panel things by all the doors. _I wonder how those work, _she thought crossly, remembering her failed escape.

Drew, who led the odd precession, glanced back and smiled as Zak darted after the girl to show her his home. The two kids dropped back a little bit as Drew proceeded on, towards their medical wing. "Where are we going," the battered street girl asked, her voice suspicious but with more innocent curiosity than street wariness.

Zak turns to stare skeptically at the cryptid beside him. "You're injured," he explained, using a 'Duh?' voice. Meija narrowed her eyes and tucked her broken hand beside her, away from Zak's view.

"So," she spits, her wary street attitude back in place. Zak stared, reeling with the realization that she thinks they don't care. _She didn't say it, but it's obvious enough she thinks that_, he decides.

"We're going to the medical wing, to get you fixed up," he tells her, before adding something that made the girl falter and left her dumbfounded. "We aren't just some people on the street, we care when you're hurt."

His voice is both defensive that she would think like that and angry that people could see other's hurt and alone on the streets but still do nothing. He shoots the girl a frown, almost a pout.

Meija's eyebrows shot into her hairline, and she could feel the emotion bubbling in her chest and up her throat. She stuffed it back down and fell back into pace with the salt-and-pepper haired youth. Both of them are silent for a moment.

"You're hurt too," the girl stated stiffly. Zak can sense her attempt at making a caring comment and trained one of his dark eyes on her. Her ears were faced in the opposite direction, her eyes bored holes in the walls ahead of her, her tail was flipped nervously behind her, and a blush shot across her cheeks like wildfire.

"And I care, too."

The girl grimaced and winced, as if the statement hurt her. _What have I gotten myself into now_? She wondered. _Since when do I care about some nosy kid, or let myself get caught_? _Or care about anyone besides myself_? That thought was directed at both Zak _and_ Fisk, whom she had grown attached to as well as the cryptid loving boy.

She was so lost in thought she bumped into Drew. Both reactions were instantaneous. Crouching, Meija flattened her ears apologetically, her tail tucked in, her expression halfway between a glare and an apologetic look.

Drew, startled turned to see what had happened. Seeing that Meija bumped her and was now looking pretty tense, let her shoulders drop to make herself look more relaxed and less threatening, and gave her a smile. _Not with teeth, though_, she reminded herself. _That would be a threatening dominant wolf display_.

"Sorry," she told the girl, before opening another door, similar to all those around it, and stepping into the medical wings' main room. The woman stepped inside, followed easily by Zak. Meija wasn't so keen to follow.

Hanging back in the doorway, she examined the room. The first thing she had noticed as the door opened was the scent of the room itself, which didn't seem too inviting. It was filled with various, harsh chemicals that made her eyes water with the sharpness, sterile metals, which had a tangy scent (not in a good way¸ either) and the lingering layer of sickness, which explained itself.

That immediately repelled her. And Meija generally listened to her nose more than her eyes. She could trust it not to play tricks on her. Well, her nose and her ears.

But her eyes gave her images regardless, so she took those in too, scrutinizing what she could see. The floor was darker blue than the hall, with lighter, almost teal looking parts, lining the wall, around the equipment, and indicating where screens could be drawn to separate the room into parts for privacy.

Various tables lined the room in a neat row, with a main part for the body and a separate slab which could be adjusted for your head. Big lights hovered over the tables, and each table also had a little rolling table with the typical hospital instruments on it.

Another thing were the shelves, in which Meija was sure were stored more equipment. The one good thing was the far wall. The whole thing was made out of glass, and gave a beautiful view of both rolling meadows and swaying, sparkling forests.

Her ears caught the swish of fabric and the resounding sound of Zak and Drew walking, then turning to see if she was following, but nothing out of the ordinary in the walls or floors, or even in the vents.

She listened for a moment longer, and found that none of the wall panels moved, and were all welded together, and that the ceiling panels could be moved to lead to the floor above this room. She still wasn't sure where the vents led.

Taking a confident step after them, she marched across the room and stood poised next to the two Saturdays. Both were shocked by her cocky, assertive presence in a place where she should be terrified. In truth she _was_ terrified, but she hid it well with cool resentment and her fiery punk outlook. "Well," she asked.

Drew proceeded to check Zak out with a few scrapes, bruises, minor burns, and pulled all the shrapnel out of his arms. Meija wasn't so lucky on her diagnoses. After pulling out of her grasp, growling, snapping, glaring, and protesting, Drew was finally able to find all of the girl's injuries, despite her near constant glare.

They were the following; a broken hand (to which Zak promptly exclaimed "I knew it!" before becoming subdued by a glare from both women); the shrapnel in her arm ("Now we'll have matching bandages!" Zak had told her); a large second degree burn and bruise across her shoulder from when she fell on the net in the smoke-screen (Drew made Meija pull off her shirt so she could bandage it despite the wolf's protests it would be gone by dinner tomorrow; Drew wasn't so convinced. Zak had been kicked out for dinner and privacy reasons); three cracked ribs (Meija had been amazed. "When did that happen?" she had asked, to which Drew had replied with a sad "I don't know." Meija wasn't sure why she had answered in that sad voice); various bruises, small burns, and scrapes; and of course, the bullet wound in her arm (The scent of infection was so powerful that even Drew pulled off the wrapping and sniffed, before informing the girl of what she already knew; 'That's pretty bad')

The two Saturdays had promptly following tried to get her to eat with no success. The girl had begun to feel dizzy and nauseous, but to prevent herself from being taken back to the medical room to be poked and prodded again, said that she was tired.

She was also wary to eat anything that strangers offered her.

It was well past midnight. (Yes, Meija had made such a fuss and put up such a fight in the medical wing that it was that late.) Collapsing on the bed in one of the guest rooms, the girl didn't bother to even take her dirty clothes off, and was asleep before she hit the pillow

That night, she didn't have any nightmares, or even wake up once.

Meija: **Humming**

...

...

...

...

...

Wolfy: **Whispering** That's almost scary.

Zak: **Nod**

Meija: Read and Review please!


	13. Chapter 12: Unaccustomed

Wolfy: Whoops, heh. I messed up and accidentally put those two lines above this sentence. My bad! And look, I'm back! Hooray...!

Meija: About f****** time! You took forever! What's wrong with you! **Bristles and growls**

Drew: No swearing!

Meija: **Growls and slinks away muttering**

Wolfy: I don't actually own The Secret Saturdays. Sadness.

The next morning the girl was up and about before the sun even reached the horizon. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes drearily, a moment of panic seized Meija when she realized she wasn't in her own home, tangled in her own bed.

Panicking, the wolf jerked up and landed on the opposite side of the room, fur on end. Looking around, she caught sight of the Saturday guest room and caught the faint scent of the Saturdays themselves, belatedly realizing she hadn't, in fact, been wolf-napped.

Shaking off her earlier panic and giving a nervous, sheepish laugh to herself, the girl stood awkwardly in the center of the room, not really sure of what to do. Judging by the sounds of the place, she was the only one currently awake. This didn't surprise her. _Lazy humans_, the orphan snorted.

_Guess I'll have to entertain myself for a while._

At least, that was the idea before she caught sight of herself in the full body mirror across the room. And compared to that puddle in the alley on the very first day the Saturdays had entered her life and learned her secret, the poor girl looked ten times worse.

With a self-pitying whimper, the street girl strode closer and examined herself head to toe. Her chestnut hair was ratty and tangled; mud streaked and probably had blood in it, her ears and tail matted.

She had gauze wrapped around her forearms and her left hand was wrapped and set as well, a few wayward Band-Aids littering her face. The pre-teens clothes were torn, charred, dirt streaked, and bloody, and you could see the bandages that covered her body through the holes and tears in her shirt.

And she stunk.

Giving a heavy sigh, the wolf-girl searched the room to see that it did, indeed, have a bathroom attached to it, and stepped inside. Peeling off the Band-Aids to reveal unmarred skin, the girl gave herself a birdbath using the sink and the hand towel next to it, rubbing away the mud and blood on her skin and fur.

A comb, toothpaste and toothbrush were strategically placed next to the sink as well, so the stray preceded to scrub her fangs clean, wrestle the knots out of her hair, tail, and ears, and pick the dirt packed under her claws out.

Satisfied that she was as good as she could get, Meija adopted an easy trot out of the room and down the hallway, poking her head into doors she didn't get to yesterday.

A lab, a storage room, another storage room, another guest room, more storage, a bathroom, another lab, some kind of weapon control for the outside of the airship, some kind of engine area…

Kitchen! _Yes_, the starving girl thought excitedly. _Time to snag some food and get out of here, somehow_. She realized afterthought she still didn't know how to work those damn doors. Didn't matter though.

Food was currently more important.

Continuing her trot, Meija let her nose guide her towards the delicious food scent. At the end of one of the hallways there was an open doorway, where the wolf-girl knew without a doubt there was food of some sort or another.

Stepping through the open doorway, she took in the sight that greeted her senses. The first was that it smelled _so good_. Whoever did the cooking in the Saturday household was really good at it. Sweet, warm sugary scent, tangy meat scent, fresh, cool smelling fruits and berries, the musky scent of flour and wheat…

"Good morning."

Startled, Meija leapt back and whirled around at the same time, claws out, fangs bared, tail bristled. Standing in front of her in a pair of black sweatpants and a forest green robe, looking anything but awake, stood Doc Saturday.

The bewildered wolf-girl stared.

_Hadn't the last time he'd seen me he was trying to kill me? And now I'm standing in his kitchen and all he could say was good morning the shuffle past me to get coffee? What should I say?_ The poor stray was staggered.

"Good …morning?" She offered tentatively, ears pulled back a bit in respect, tail twisting nervously behind her. The big man gave some sort of affirmative grunt from his place at the coffee maker across the room. The thick scent of coffee beans filled the air.

Wary from their last encounter, Meija kept one eye and ear on the half blind scientist while flicking the other one at the open doorway, listening for the rest of the household and mentally berating herself.

_Great job at watching out for danger_, she told herself. _How you aren't dead yet I'll never know_. Wait, there. Drew was coming down the hallway now too. The girl could hear her and already had her scent.

Padding across the room on her toes, the chestnut haired girl sat down on the opposite side of the table, facing the doorway. Drew ambled in not a few moments later, her silver hair rumpled and unkempt.

She gave the room a once over before sauntering across the way and over to get her own cup of coffee, tossing a "Good Morning you two," into the room before placing kiss on her husband's temple.

Doc grunted in answer. Meija returned the greeting quietly. Another relative silence settled over the room, broken only as Doc sipped his coffee and Drew looked through the cabinets.

Meija watched silently, observing over her shoulder or by the scent or what she took out what was in the cabinets Drew opened and closed. As Doc came to take a seat at the table, he closed his eyes and took a sip of his coffee. The wolf used her opportunity.

Slipping silently from the table, she padded quickly passed the man, shoulders hunched to make herself small should he see her, and kept easily out of sight of Drew as she fiddled with a pan, passing behind her. Opening a cabinet as quietly as she could, the thief-like stray grabbed a baby blue mug, and fixed herself a coffee, thankful the two elder Saturdays had left out the cream and sugar.

With her own coffee, she slipped behind the furthest counter she could manage from the door and table and settled against it to observe everything, still within sight of everyone, but tucked away in a slight shadow.

Taking a sip of her own coffee, Meija felt Drew's eyes on her. Settling her coffee back on the counter, she looked up hesitantly and met her hazel eyes with the older woman's darker pair. "I didn't know you drank coffee," she remarked.

The orphan didn't answer, just nodded, feeling anxious and scared and awkward in this strange new situation, and not understanding why. She almost blurted out a sudden, nostalgic memory that passed her mind and made her want to laugh and cry at the same time, but held it in.

Drew opened her mouth to say something else, but was interrupted when Zak stumbled through the door, bleary eyed and yawning loudly, Fiskerton and Komodo at his side. "Good morning," the trio slurred, dropping at their own respective places in the room.

Doc and Drew both returned the greeting. Zak propped his head in his hand and gave another loud yawn as Fiskerton draped half his body over the table, asleep instantly. Komodo left the room to go find a newspaper.

Reopening his eyes, Zak's gaze sharpened as they hit her. Meija's ears pulled back and her tail flicked around nervously. _Why he is looking at me like that_, she wondered. _Is he mad or something_?

"Why does she get to have coffee?" He demanded, pointing straight at her. The girl stood stock still for a moment before letting out a few nervous chuckles. _So he wasn't angry_, she though, giving a mental sigh and thanking Luna you couldn't load a finger like a gun.

Drew sighed. "You can have a cup too, sweetie, but only one. And don't think this will become a regular thing either!" She reprimanded him, pouring the batter she had made into a waffle maker.

Zak cheered and leapt from his seat, going about making his own coffee. When he was done, he took a huge gulp and gave a content sigh. "Come on, Meija," he coaxed the wolf out of her corner, "you can sit next to me and Fisk."

Grabbing her coffee in one hand like a life preserver, the stray dropped down into her seat and squirmed uncomfortably, catching the glances from Doc and stares from Drew. You could cut the growing tension with a knife.

"Order up," Drew told the family and wolf as the waffle maker gave a ding, signaling the completion of waffles. Piling the plates with waffles she handed each family member one before also placing one in front of Meija, much to her surprise.

Zak fell on his plate like a wolf, tearing into his breakfast, and the true wolf soon followed suite, satisfied that the family wouldn't poison each other and therefore that the food wasn't poisoned. After her third waffle, the girl abruptly looked up. Both Doc and Drew hastily looked away, caught staring. The orphan's patience ended.

"What," she snapped. "Why do you keep giving me those looks!"

Wolfy: Here we have it, my short chapter. I promise I'll try to get a new one out real soon. Like, really really soon. Not "Next week is soon enough," soon, soon soon. You know what I mean?

Meija:... No, Wolfy, no we don't.

Zak: I kind of get it, I think...

Doc & Drew: We get it, cuz we're smart scientists!

Fisk: I don't.

Wolfy: Whatever! We can have a discussion about this later! For now, please R & R.

Wolfy:... You know, why do we say "Read and Review" when it's obvious they've already read the chapter if their reading this? I mean, seriously...

Everybody: **Sigh**


	14. Chapter 13: Moving On

Wolfy: Okay, the next chapter in my somewhat lovely story. Things'll start to heat up again soon **Evil Laughter**

Meija: I have terrible feeling that something bad is about to happen to me...

Zak: Probably; but no worries, I'll come rescue you. **Grin**

Meija: Who says I'll _need_ rescueing? **Growl**

Wolfy: Crap, I spelled that wrong... **Sweatdrop**

Komodo: **Growl Hiss Growl Growl**

Komodo: **Hiss Grow**..._e communicator worki-oh! What I said was, 'Wolfy does not own TSS or the iPod company'_

* * *

Both Saturdays looked uncomfortable. "Your…" Doc grumbled.

Drew stood up from the table. "You need clothes; I'll have to look for something that fits you, though we might have to go out and get something." Zak snickered.

"Yeah, _shopping_." He laughed, since he couldn't imagine the girl doing anything remotely girly at all. Meija blushed and pulled her ears back, wondering discreetly if they could see anything through the various holes and rips she had. Her tail stuck straight out behind her.

"Who said I'm staying," she snarled, glaring at the table in front of her.

The family looked up. "Don't you want to?" Drew asked. "Now come on, some of my old clothes might fit you…"

And the wolf-girl followed her out of the room, eyeing the darkening clouds outside as she went.

"That one's too big too!" Drew exclaimed, eyeing the shirt she'd found for the girl. It was hard to tell what size she was, and since Meija didn't know herself, the small task of clothing was turning into an impossible mission.

The guest room the two girl's – as well as the trio of brothers – were in looked like a war zone. Or at least the sight of a tornado; a _big_ tornado. Meija sighed. _Was finding a pair of pants and a shirt really so hard_?

Apparently so.

Zak, who was relaxing on the bed, idly grabbed a bottle he'd found on the floor and examined it. "Hair dye?" He asked. "Where did we even get this?"

Meija smirked at him. "Oh, come on Zak," she teased from her place as far away from the other people in the room as she could get. "That _can't_ be your natural hair color." He stuck his tongue out at her.

"Is too," he informed her. "I was born this way."

She gave him a look that clearly said _I-don't-believe-you_, and opened her mouth to retort, but stopped to turn and catch the wad of clothing that Drew had tossed at her. "Try that," the woman suggested irritably. Her right hand clenched and unclenched, as if the woman _really_ wanted to take her sword and destroy something right then and there.

Meija disappeared into the bathroom with a gulp.

Fiskerton yawned and turned over in his sleep.

Komodo shredded an old t-shirt.

Drew growled.

Zak blinked.

Komodo _ate_ the shredded shirt.

"What's taking her," the two human Saturday's wondered in synch. Drew wandered over and knocked on the door.

"Let's see it," she commanded. Inside the bathroom, Meija was in a mental dead-lock. Examining herself in the mirror, she noted that she looked better than she had since she was five, but was horrified by the outfit. It was just so… so…

The door handle jiggled. "I'll come in if you don't come out!" Drew threatened.

"She's serious," Zak added. "I know from experience."

"I'm coming!" The girl shouted. She took a deep breath and grabbed the handle…

Drew smiled, dark lipstick curving upwards. "That looks good," she told the younger girl. "And it fits your personality; I was a punk just like you when I was young too." Zak leapt off the bed.

"Aw, don't you look cute." He teased, pinching her cheeks and pulling. Meija pulled out of his grasp and bit down on his fingers.

"Yowch!" Zak yelped, waving his finger in the air. Meija ignored him and turned back to the mirror self-consciously.

_I look like a_ girl, the wolf thought in horror.

She wore a cobalt blue, off-the-shoulder shirt, which wasn't so bad. It fit snugly, at least, and it even had neon colored splatters on it; bright green, orange, purple, yellow. She wore a purple spaghetti strap under that, and felt fairly confident. It was what she wore under that.

"How could you put me in a _skirt!_" She howled. The wolf-girl wore a simple black pleated skirt that reached almost down to her knees. Maybe a little bit above, but not that short.

"And a mini skirt at that!" Meija accused, dropping to her knees in horror. Drew shrugged helplessly.

"It was the only thing that fit, isn't it?" She asked, trying to hide her grin. Before Meija could retort, there was a shudder, as if the entire ship was shivering. The wolf-girl was the only one who could hear it, but there had been explosions in the right lower half of the ship. "What the…"

Zak grabbed the Claw and unclipped it from his belt, while Drew, Fisk, and Komodo ran for the door, Drew pulling her sword from its sheath. Meija swung out into the hallway, Zak on her tail, and followed the group into a frontal control room, where Doc was already pounding away at the various buttons and levers.

Meija could see through the front window that it had begun to rain.

"It was Abbey," he informed them. "She attacked the main engines, and I no longer have a visual of…" There was another shudder. "…her."

Meija thought fast and listened hard. A pair of bright red lights slid out of the wall behind her, and a siren started going off. "She went around to the other side!" Meija yelled. "She set off an explosion on the lower left side, in the back!"

Doc hit a few more buttons, and there were sounds outside. Were those pings energy rays or rain-drops? The girl couldn't tell. Drew pulled a lever and Zak leapt into a seat, fastening his seat belt. He waved her over to another chair as the airship started up with a cough and a sputter, and Meija fastened herself in loosely.

While getting the airship up into the air, the two adults hit buttons and tapped various screens, and Fiskerton yelped and went sliding as the ship lifted leaning heavily to one side. As soon as it began, it was over. The Saturdays all gave a sigh of relief and grinned as the airship leveled out a bit and pulled above the clouds.

Meija leapt out of her seat as if it had been on fire. "I hate anything even remotely constricting," she explained sheepishly, catching the strange looks from the family.

There were a few moments of near silence, only the humming of the airship splitting the quietness. Drew sighed and Zak yawned. Fiskerton pulled himself up off the floor, while Komodo dropped onto it.

Doc looked at Meija, and dropped his gaze a moment before straightening his shoulders. "Meija," he spoke, voice serious. "You can't stay in this town anymore. It's not safe, with mercenaries like Abbey crawling around…"

"Yeah, yeah," Meija waved him off. "We'll have to go back for my stuff when it gets dark though." He smiled. Meija opened her mouth to say something else, probably along the lines of "don't get me wrong…" but that transformed into a whoosh of air as Fisk plucked her up and squeezed her into a huge, furry hug.

While Meija struggled and growled and listened to Doc and Drew talk about dinner in the background and Zak run over to cheer and Komodo try to hide a smile behind his tail, she wondered secretly if she might have a home and a family again.

And she smiled.

It was early springtime so it was getting dark later and later, but as dusk set in, the Saturdays slipped back under the rumbling cloud-cover and landed their oh so inconspicuous airship on the opposite side of town form where it was before.

_Practically on my door-step_, Meija thought, sliding easily down the ramp and slipping into the trees, Zak, Drew and Komodo on her heels. Doc, Fiskerton, and Zon would remain at the airship incase Abbey decided to come for a visit, but they had hopes that the bad weather would deter her.

With thunder rumbling overhead and Komodo grumbling behind them, Meija lead the group through quiet back alleyways and through the crack to her home. Drew was impressed.

"It's impossible to notice from the outside, it's got power and water, its weather-proof, this is perfect for someone like you." Meija stuffed the things she'd need into a shoulder-bag the Saturdays had given her; her iPod, the laptop, her comb, she left the toothbrush but grabbed all the medical supplies, her lamp, and a few of her nicer clothes.

Zak helped her pack while Komodo waited outside. Finished with stuffing the shoulder-bag, the girl swiped a nice folder off of her little dresser and turned to start slipping the papers in it.

"Did you draw these?" Drew was holding a couple pieces of paper, carefully sketched pictures depicted on each one. A broken, bleeding heart, a twisting shadow wolf that intertwined with a small, young angel, a collection of curving lines that somehow were reminiscent of the _Aurora Borealis _yet seemed also like leaping flames or winding rivers…

Meija leapt and snatched the pictures out of Drew's hands, hiding them away in the folder. "Do _not_ touch those." She growled, the most serious Drew had ever seen her. Her hazel eyes had taken on a greyish tint, and were dark and humorless. She was definitely serious about the no touching, Zak decided, inching away from a pile of papers on the countertops.

With everything carefully collected and in the bag, Zak and Drew filed out. As Meija followed, she turned one last time to look at the place she'd called home for two years. _I've lived here longer than anywhere else_, she thought somberly. _But I guess I gotta move on again_.

She flicked the light off, and stepped out of the darkness and into the silver misty rain that was falling in the streets.

* * *

Wolfy: Okay, kinda depressing. We finally got to see what was on those random loose papers, and Meija is moving in with the Saturdays, as well as warming up to human company. And not so human company, right Komodo?

Komodo: _Yeah right, that wolf-animal?_

Meija: **Glower**

Wolfy: Anyways, how did you guys like Meija's new outfit? Everyone knows that in Cartoon/Anime universes characters always wear the same clothes everyday, so that's gonna be Meija's signature outfit unless you want me to change it. And geez, did anyone else get hit by that blizzard? We've had more snow from this blizzard than at any other time in the past two years here in Michigan! It's so fun, I went sledding today :)

Zon & Wolfy: Please read and review!


	15. Chapter 14: Captured

Wolfy: Yo! How're all the creatures out there doing? Can I get a "what what"?

Meija: You bitch you-

Wolfy: Shush! Don't give away the chapter!

Zak: Wolfy! She's right, how could you giv-

Wolfy: SHUT UP! I want it to be s surprise!

Komodo: _Sure, a surprise. *_Eyeroll_* Seriously, we all saw this coming_.

Wolfy: *Glower* Whatever. BTW, Secret Girl wanted to know if Zak lost his powers in the last ep, and !SPOILER! He does, but I figured this would take place before that point. Also, they still have their house, so this is even before Fisk destroys it. And ta was asking about Meija's past, which I'm glad you picked up on, since I've been hinting at it a lot. I might actaully have to make a sequel to explore that more clearly, and if I did, nothing solid right now, it would probably only have cameo appearances of the Saturdays, so people would have to be Meija fans to read that. Lemme know what you think of that, okay?

* * *

A group of huddled figures darted in and out of the silver falling mist, slipping down deserted streets and past darkened shops. With the daylight quickly fading, and the weather bad, it was perfect for people such as these.

Meija led the way, thankful the Saturdays had agreed to her request. _I just have to say goodbye_.

Meija paused under an awning to wait for Zak to catch up. She figured Komodo would probably come with him, but she had learned that the large green lizard could turn invisible, so she probably wouldn't be able to tell. Drew had taken up the rear, and kept a little away from the group so she could see better.

Meija shivered.

When Zak stepped to stand next to her out of the mist, she noted that droplets of the floating water had gathered and beaded across his hair like dew-drops, and wondered if that was happening to her, too.

The orphan continued on until she had reached right next to the little place, the place where just a few days ago she had enjoyed some company and food and help with her arm. And now she was leaving it, for who knew how long.

Meija was a very unhappy wolf.

Slipping around the side, since she didn't want to be seen, the girl stopped outside the alleyway door and knocked softly, hesitantly. Afraid to knock again, she stood miserably in the cold and dark, Drew and Zak standing behind her, wondering if the woman was even there.

The door slid open and Annie stood there, silver-blonde hair swinging, same as always. Meija had one of her old sweatshirts on, and the hood pulled up so the woman wouldn't see her ears. "Can I…?"

Annie gasped. "Kid, what're you doing out there in this kind of weather? Come inside right now!" The woman bustled her in. "And who are these folks? Friends of yours? Bring them in for god's sakes, you'll all catch a cold!"

Meija sat quietly in a chair next to Zak in the warm kitchen while the woman heated up some pastries and brought everyone a hot chocolate. Drew sat across from the two. Sipping distantly, she wondered what she looked like to her dear friend, standing in the dark and rain, soaked to the bone and looking miserable, toting random strangers with her.

Annie walked back in.

Meija looked up.

"I'm leaving, Annie."

Three simple words. Three simple words that _hurt_, because the last time she had left her home, the circumstances had been exactly the same. _Exactly_ the same. The same terrible, terrible circumstances that tore her family from her, and were now taking away from this woman who had helped her and been her friend and whom she looked up to like a second mother.

Annie smiled. "I know kid, I knew when I opened that door and saw you standing there, in the rain and the dark and cold. Are you going with these people?"

Meija nodded, since her throat had suddenly gotten very thick. She took another sip of her hot chocolate, scalding her tongue. "Because of those explosions today, right?" Meija nodded again.

Annie smiled. "Why don't you take off your hood?" And she leaned over and pulled Meija's hood down, though Zak and Drew both stood to stop her. Annie continued smiling and mussed up the wolf-girl's hair, right between her ears, which were drawn back and wet and smelled like wet dog.

Meija pointed an accusing finger. "You knew. How did you know?" She was shocked. Drew and Zak looked shocked too. Annie laughed. "You come in here at least once a month for six years, most of the time more, and you think I didn't notice something strange?" She handed Meija a warm scone and walked the group to the door.

And her smile drooped a little. Pushing the door open with a gust of wind, the woman leaned down and hugged Meija with one arm. "You better come back and visit, got it?" She said, Marine eyes brimmed with tears. Meija nodded.

Zak walked with her, shoulder-to-shoulder, and Drew dropped a hand on her other shoulder. It was comforting.

And then it all disappeared.

Literally.

With an explosion, a blinding flash of light, and a horrible ringing noise. Not sure what was going on, the girl called out. "Zak?" She began to panic. _I can't hear my own voice!_ "Drew!" She shrieked. "_Komodo!_" Now things were desperate.

_Was that a flash-bang?_

When her vision began to clear and she was gaining her hearing back, she was still pretty confused. There were shouts and more explosions, and Abby wove into sight, fighting Drew. Meija took an angry step in their direction, squinting through the mist. "Leave…!" Something white and sticky hit her arm.

Meija blinked. "What the he…!" The sticky strand wrenched the girl off her feet, through the air, and into a brick wall. Whimpering, the girl tried to push herself away but instead found herself being crushed. Biting down on instinct, she was thrown through the air a moment later.

But this time she managed to land on her feet.

Snarling, she took a look at her opponent, blood-pumping, ears flattened, mind sharp. _What the hell is this thing_, Meija wondered. It looked like a mixture of Frankenstein and a spider, with dumb eyes and a square head, covered in reddish fur, four spiky appendages sticking out of its back.

She wasn't sure she wanted to know what the white stuff had been.

She found out anyways, when he spit the stuff out of his mouth. _Straight at her_. She ducked, and it flew over her head. _A perfect chance_.

Darting along under the white strand, the wolf-girl leapt into a flying kick, straight into the ugly monster's gut. Bouncing off with a flip, she looked to see what he would do next. He swung.

_Fast reflexes_, she noted to herself, just barely side-stepping the punch. Meija held her fingers out into a piece sign in front of her. The monster leaned right into them, successfully getting his eyes dotted.

He pulled back with a roar. Still on offense, Meija dug her claws into his chest, leaping so she could get high enough, and swiped in a diagonal motion, leaving long bloody gashes. Worried about the shouts in the background, she ricocheted off the ground after her slice, throwing her shoulder into the bloody wounds.

_That oughtta hurt!_

The big creepy spider-thing lost his balance, falling backwards. The girl didn't pause. Pivoting on her heel, she took off in the direction of the shouting, and almost ran straight into Zak, whose eyes were glowing violently as he appeared through the mist and the darkness. He looked relieved to see her, but had a bruise across his cheek.

"Where's my mom," he asked, eyes darting around intently.

"I dunno," Meija answered. "I saw her fighting that bitch with the jetpack earlier."

Zak suddenly leapt onto Meija and pinned her to the ground, weight squishing her. "Oww…" She whimpered, her head having hit the asphalt. "What the heck are you…" Zak looked as surprised as she did, so he obviously hadn't tackled her. That meant he'd been attacked.

The duo was on their feet in an instant, but there was nothing there. Meija listened intently, but didn't hear anything but the sound of Drew fighting Abbey, and Komodo fighting behind her, presumably the monster spider thing.

Meija ducked perfectly a moment later, dodging a white claw. Spinning on her heel, her fist connected with a rough material. I got it, she thought. Skidding, but still on its feet in front of her, was some sort of… something.

The wolf wasn't really sure what it was. It looked human all except the claws, but it smelled strange. Zak swung his bird foot at it, but the creature simply side-stepped the glowing weapon. "Why Zak," it spoke with a smooth, easy tone. "Why would you do something like that?"

The boy beside her growled, energy sparking violently. Meija's tail lashed. "Argost," he spat, normally cheery voice deadly. His eyes were dark under his soggy hair. Meija normally would have laughed at how he looked, normally spiky hair totally droopy from the wetness, but had to keep sharp eyes and ears.

"What do _you_ want?"

The girl spun so that her back was facing Argost, and stepped behind Zak. He could handle that thing, she hoped. For now, the wolf could hear that spider monster headed in her direction.

Meija was ready for it when the white strand shot out of the wind, and she brought her claws up and sliced straight through. What she wasn't expecting was one those spiky appendages to crash down on top of her and pin her to the side-walk for the second time that night.

Shivering and thoroughly soaked to the bone, the street wolf snarled and tried as hard as she could to wrench herself free. Her wet bangs stuck to her forehead and stung her eyes, and she wondered if he was planning on crushing her to death, breath getting short under the pressure on her back.

_I can't reach him with my claws or fangs_, she realized with a jolt. _I gotta get some help or something_.

And then she had an idea. Going limp under the pressing foot, Meija relaxed against the chilled ground, her bare legs splayed across the cold ground. _Damn skirt_. After a moment, the foot let up.

Instead of jumping the gun and attacking now, the orphan kept herself limp, eyes closed, ears relaxed. It went against every instinct in her body, all of which screamed _run, fight, do something!_

Instead, she allowed herself to be grabbed in one giant hand and transported through the air, to some place she couldn't see. And then she hung there. _See what happens_, Meija told herself. _Wait for the most opportune moment_.

"Meija!"

So Drew was okay. The wolf-girl also counted Komodo when she heard an angry hiss and rocked a little bit. "Ah ah, Saturdays. We wouldn't want to hurt our dear _pet _now, would we?"

It was that _thing_! The one Zak hated, which made her hate him too!

Fighting back the urge to stiffen, the street kid kept listening. Where was Zak? And that mercenary? She couldn't hear either of them.

"Give her back!" Drew sounded angry. _Very, very_ angry. That Argost thing laughed.

"Now why would I want to do that? It's very inconsiderate to keep all the fun to yourselves, you know." There was a scuffle, and a slight _umph!_

"Zak! Sweetie, are you okay?"

"I'm fine mom, are you-Argost! _Hey!_ Give her back!"

There was a pretty laugh, slightly above and to her right_. Better be careful when I make my move_, Meija thought to herself. _The mercenaries' got a clean shot_.

"Like mother like son. I have to apologize, dear boy, but I need her. Spider DNA is so hard to mix into human, you know? Perhaps studying this one's," Meija was shaken a little, "will help."

Meija was moving again.

"Au revior, dear family…"

Now!

Meija burst to life in the spider's gigantic arms, snarling and growling and sounding somewhat similar to a demon. Slashing a mark across his face, she propelled herself off of his tree-trunk arms and grabbed Abbey. Disabling her jet-pack by tearing as many wires as she could grasp from it, the girl ignored the sizzle of her palm burning for the moment, and leapt at Argost.

And missed.

With a yelp, she crashed into the ground and skid straight into Komodo. _Panic, chaos, pandemonium_, she thought with a delirious smile. _My work here is done. And damn, do my legs hurt. Stupid skirt_.

But it wasn't over yet. "Clever move, little wolf," with a shriek of surprise, the girl lifted her hazel eyes to meet Argost's rather amused ones. "But I'm afraid tonight I win this one, Saturdays." Meija searched for help frantically. _Don't let him take me_...

Drew was drugged by the smoke bomb Abbey had thrown before she let go off her jet pack, Komodo wasn't going to be moving anytime soon, knocked out from Meija crashing into him, and Zak was being detained by the spider thing.

When Argost swiped and Meija went flying into the metal barred cage behind her, she wondered distantly if they would be okay before she was knocked out by the cold, slippery bars her head had crashed into behind her.

She didn't even have time to see stars.

* * *

Wolfy: Heh, I feel kind of abusive. Does Meija seem OC in this part? SHe's normally all "Lone Wolf" and tough, but in this situation...hmmm.

Meija: YES! THIS SUCKS! WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?

Argost: Heh heh heh... victory! Take that, Saturdays.

Munya: *Totally poker faced*

Zak: Grrrr, I'm gonna kill you! *Chases them out of the room*

Abbey: Please R and R; and always remember that time is money.


	16. Chapter 15: Experiments

Wolfy: Okay, another chapter. Beware, ladies, gentlemen, and readers of all ages, because these next few chapters are gonna be kind of dark, and will have a lot of blood/swearing involved. Presumably, at least.

Saturday Family: **Pissed** Don't worry Meija! We'll definitly save you!

Meija: **Snarls** Why do I have a bad feeling when she says dark and bloody?

Wolfy: **Evil Laugh** Good instincts, perhaps?

Meija: Aw, crap. Ah well, let's get this over with... Anyways, the only thing Wolfy owns is me, made obvious by the fact that I am terribly abused.

* * *

_The bars were cold and slippery, and no matter how hard she fought, she couldn't get out, couldn't escape, couldn't breathe…_

_It was much darker. There was no silver mist, or bright orange, or cold white. It was simply dark, though the bars remained…_

_She felt warmer. The bars were dryer, and there was a light on nearby. Was she moving? It felt like it…_

_Was someone touching her? Her neck felt much heavier than it did before. Where had the bars gone? Was she free? She fought, and fought, and fought, for a long time…_

When Meija rolled back into consciousness, head aching and body stiff, she assumed she had fallen asleep in her kitchen again.

Until she remembered the bars.

And felt the weight on her shoulders and around her neck.

Hauling herself up slowly, the girl whimpered, dizzy and in pain. _Is this what a hangover feels like_, she wondered. _With your head pounding so loud_…

The wolf pulled herself unsteadily to her feet, bracing her hands against the cool, smooth stone she had been leaned up against a moment ago. _Where am I?_ There was no light in the room, but her night vision helped her pick things out a bit. _Why am I so weak?_

It looked… jail-ish.

Or dungeon-y.

Bare, probably sandstone walls, a pile of hay in the corner down from where she swayed, a door across the room with a small, barred window. It smelled like mildew and dust and clogged her throat. And… metal. Or copper.

And it spun.

Meija numbly lifted her fingers to the back of her head, and tried to piece together what had happened. When she pulled the slender appendages away, brown flecks stuck to the sweaty pads, under her claws. _I was with the Saturdays, then in a cage, now I'm_…

She wasn't really sure where she was. Tail curved out behind her, slightly leaned over, the haggard orphan left the wall and moved towards the door, body throbbing. Why was it so hot in here? It felt like the air itself was thick; un-breathable. Overpowering was the metal scent that she felt was important, but couldn't exactly remember.

Shadows danced in the corner of her normally sharp vision, but when Meija looked, there was nothing there. Her fur stood on end.

And then she was chocking.

"What the hell!" She sputtered, falling back and feeling her throat. She had been _so close_ to the door!

Her fingers met steel.

Touching along, the girl followed the steel all the way around her neck.

Encircling her.

Trapping her.

Thinking more clearly, Meija met a horrifying conclusion. "Argost _wolfnapped_ me!" She screeched.

"_I'll kill him for chaining me!_"

The collar was simple, strong, and insanely uncomfortable. It was dark steel all along the outside, with bolts fastening thick brown leather to the inside, which made it sweaty, and was very heavy. It engulfed her entire neck like a sick chocker, and threw her off with the top heavy imbalance it created. The back held a double ring opening that had chains threaded through, which attached to the wall where she had been leaning.

It was already leaving bruises on her collarbone.

Meija grasped at the sweaty leather with her claws and _pulled_. A moment later she hit the floor, body spasming, vision flashing. When her sight cleared, the wolf knew she was trapped, though Meija wondered how he was managing to electrify the back of a metal collar. Deciding it was too much for her in her current state; she staggered to the hay and collapsed.

The shrieks woke her from a dark, dreamless sleep that she didn't know she had entered until she was awake again. They echoed from every corner of her cell, coming through the cracks in the stone and through the wood and from the very earth itself.

Incapable of movement for the moment, the wolf lay curled tightly in the center of the hay, trying miserably to go back to sleep. The cries continued, some of them long, low moans and some of them wails so high they made her ears pinch. It was horrible, listening to the frenzied, turbulent chorus of pained pleas and agonized begging's of crazed creatures from all around. Meija lifted her arms and wrapped her fingers around her ears.

"Stop it," she whispered despairingly. "_Stop it!_" Shaking, she trundled to the corner furthest from the door on all fours before re-curling around herself. The cold made her think of snow…

Shaken again from a horrible memory, _that_ horrible memory, the one that plagued her with guilt and self-disgust, Meija wiped the sweat away from her forehead. _Why is it so hot in here_, she wondered, staring at her burnt, stinging palm. _And where the fuck did this burn come from_? She stared at it for a minute, mind muddled, before remembering suddenly. The wolf jerked to her feet.

_The cell_.

She was still in the cell.

How long had she been here? Meija leaned to her feet and found that she was still dizzy, but not quite what it had been before. She could work with this kind of pain. She could shove it away and pretend it wasn't there.

This was good pain.

_Okay_, she thought to herself, trying to think above the screams. _It's Okay, just work with the facts. Argost kidnapped you, has you chained and injured and somewhere you don't know with no one to rely on. What do you do?_ There was really only one choice for this kind of situation. It had been her dads' philosophy.

"_Trust your instincts_".

"Okay, okay, good, but what first?" Meija felt like she couldn't breathe. _Off, off, off, get it off; it needs to come off, off!_ The words were always there, coming in tune to the time of her breathing and heartbeats, her drive and intuition. Better known as instinct.

"Right, get it off," she snarled to herself, ears flattening in determination. "I _will_ get this damn thing _off!_" So she set to work trying to free herself from the collar. First she tried (many more times than she should have) to pry the back open, all resulting in the electric shock that sent her, whimpering, to her knees. After she began to understand that the shocks were getting worse each time she tried, the wolf stopped.

"Dammit!" She howled, her voice mixing with the voices from all around her. _No, no, no, it must come off; it has to come off_…

Meija was struck with a sudden, frightening thought after hearing how her own howl mixed in to that chorus. She wondered why Argost hadn't come for her yet. _He must've left me here to drive me crazy, to try and turn me in to an animal, but I'm already an animal, I've always been one, but I'm human too_…

Maybe he'd succeeded in driving the wolf just a little bit crazy.

"That, that…" Meija couldn't think of a word to call him that would convey exactly what she thought of him in that moment. She wished she could think clearly, but those howls… abruptly halted!

Meija shot to attention, leaping to her feet, a little bit sideways, but still on her feet. All her senses strained towards the door, her entire body concentrating into that one core, converging towards the door.

And then, it swung open.

Meija shrank backwards with a cry. She recognized the scents of Argost and the spider guy, but couldn't see them. They had a torch, and the girl had been in the cell for so long that she couldn't look at the light of the flame for it hurt her eyes. "You!" She shouted before shielding eyes so watery she couldn't see the dark anymore either.

"I'll…!" Ignoring the sparks that exploded in the back of her head like fireworks, the were-girl flew at the silhouettes, chain clinking across the floor behind her. Spider-guy met her head on, plucking her easily out of the air. Meija panted and hung there, too spent already to do much anything at all. She noted that his massive chest was wrapped in clean white gauze.

Meija leaned one lead weighing arm out to trace a strand. "Tough guy couldn't take a measly little cut, eh?" She cajoled him, thoroughly disgusted with her own weakness. _Street rat couldn't even defend herself, eh_…

The wolf wondered if the spider-thing slamming her into the dirt and the blank pain she felt afterwards were similar to an out-of-body experience. "Munya," reprimanded Argost in his sickeningly smooth voice. "Be careful with our guest; we still need her alive." Still unused to the light, and unnerved by what the creature before her had said, Meija watched the outlines of the duo against the backdrop of deep light.

A feeling of terror so much more than any fear she had ever felt before gripped the wolf, as she watched the two move about like demons she couldn't see. Hating herself, Meija began to shiver so violently Munya's hand holding her down left a long, yellow-green bruise across her collarbone.

_What do they want with me_, she wondered as she twisted and tried to pry herself away gently. _Will I be here forever, letting them experiment on me?_ They snipped some hair from her head, ears and tail, took a skin scrape, and clipped the tip of a fingernail before leaving her in the darkness again. Argost spoke easily before disappearing, but the words wouldn't register in the girls mind for many hours.

Long after the wails had started up again, Meija realized that she was whimpering and shaking and couldn't see and the scent of blood hang thickly in the air.

_I'm scared_, she screamed inside her mind. _I'm so scared_…

* * *

Wolfy: And that was the chapter. So far I've got a couple ahead, and this incidint is going to be the key point in ending my story, so it should be done in less then five chapters, but you never know.

Zak: Where are we! We need to be there to help her _NOW!_

Wolfy: **Cowers and Runs**

Saturday Family: **Chases her to destroy her**

Meija: If I'm lucky, maybe I'll get a sequel! Do you guys, **Cough Wince** want a sequel? It wouldn't involve much of the Saturdays, but would have a new cast of Were-Wolf characters? Anyways, read and review!


	17. Chapter 16: Savior

Wolfy: Alright, time for an update; sorry, as time goes on, I get worse about updating. And I'm still gonna be bad, 'caus I've got a huge case of writer's block on a chapter just a little ahead of this one.

Meija: Nobody better say anything - I don't even feel like growling... *Ugh*

Zak: Uh... Wolfy does not own us *Whispering*

* * *

For the rest of her life after that, Meija would never be able to tell you how long she sat there and wailed her heart out, voice mixing with so many others, and she wouldn't be able to say just what coaxed her mind back from the despair. She claims her dad would've said "Survival Instinct".

And maybe it was.

But mostly, it was the blood.

When Meija opened her eyes and realized that she was howling, in a wild and high and quickly disappearing voice, she snapped her jaws shut. _What the hell am I doing?_ Her back felt sticky and her shirt clung to it.

The way her body trembled from weakness reminded her of the fear she'd felt, the fear that was still there and refused to leave her. But… the fear that she would use. She would use it to help herself survive.

To survive and find the others like her. Meija remembered what Argost had said before he'd left her there in that cell. "You were quite the catch, my dear. The others out there, of your kind mind you, were quite the predicament to try and find. Your pack, I suppose you would refer to them as, well I assume that they believed you to be dead. Lucky for me, isn't it?"

_Heh_, Meija thought to herself. _You know what they say about assuming things, you bastard_…

Reaching around to try and fiddle with the back of her collar again, to fight her way out, the girl wondered why just her back was soaked in sweat. She almost immediately pulled her hand away upon touching the slick, hot metal and leather. _No way… the metal-scent was_…

Meija stared in horror at the hand she had just pulled away from the collar. The hand that was covered in a glove of blood. When the wolf-girl opened her mouth to shriek, but all that she could force out was a squeak, her voice spent and gone. She was no longer so sure that was sweat on her back…

_I have to get out, right now, have to, have to, have to_…

The collar wasn't going to open if she'd already tried. Meija thought, panicked, grasping at straws desperately for an idea to escape. She managed one. Grabbing a sharp shard of rock from the wall, the orphan proceeded to systematically slam it down on every link of the chain she could reach that attached her collar to the wall, trying to find the weak link.

Slam! _I_…

Slam! _Have to_…

Slam! _Get_…

Slam! _Out_…

Slam! _For mom_…

Slam! _And dad_…

Slam! _And_…

Slam! _And for_…

_Me! _

Rip!

Meija stared blankly at the severed piece of chain link in the palm of her hand for a moment, and the limp, unattached piece snaking to the wall in front of her. _I_… _I got myself free_… Then she laughed, though it sounded more like a cough. _I'm out!_

Launching herself at the door, Meija was pleased, and a bit offended, to find that Argost had left it unlocked. _Oh well, his problem, not mine_.

He had also placed her, very conveniently, of course, at the very end of a long, almost completely pitch dark hallway. _Now I don't have to choose a direction, at least_. Quivering from fatigue and exhaustion, and the newfound terror of getting recaptured, the street-wolf hurled herself as fast as she could go on unsteady fours, her balance too inept to run on just two legs.

Meija ignored the enraged screams of creatures that had caught her bloody, panicked scent and took the first staircase she could find as high as she could go, before tackling down the door that opened out of that echoey chamber and into a rather normal looking living room area. _Okay, just gotta find a window or a door, hell, even a fucking hole in the wall would do right about now_…

Creeping along with her tail pressed flat against her belly and her ears drawn back, Meija kept close to the floor and walls, slipping behind every piece of furniture she could find and flinching violently at every noise. Her collar and remaining length of chain rattled noisily. But what scared her most was the fact that she couldn't find even a small trace of fresh air in the room.

When she took a step back from a creak in the wall near her, the wolf found herself hanging over the edge of a hole in the carpet that hadn't been there when she'd passed the moment before. Opening her mouth again in a cry she knew wouldn't come, Meija scratched at the air with her legs, trying to find a way to haul herself back up, and away from the hole with the sucking, billowing wind.

Thoroughly spooked, Meija managed to grab a lamp and pull herself away from the sheer drop, though the lamp grew spikes the moment she let go. Lunging for the door, the girl grabbed the handle…

…then shot off again a moment later when an electrical current fried her fingers and made her collar spark with pain. _What the hell is with this fucking house of horrors_, Meija wanted to scream. _That's it, no more damn doors!_ Instead, she ripped the paneling away from the wall, ignored the little bugs that looked like they were made of Lego's, and threw all her weight against the opposite side. _I'll just go through here instead!_

So she did, the parallel wall giving way with a creak. Meija wished she'd thought the idea through a little more carefully when she found herself sliding out into a hallway, but up near the high, arched ceiling just a moment later. Eyes wide, the girl hung precariously for a moment before tumbling, dragged down headfirst by that damn choking collar.

Of course, she couldn't just fall peacefully to her friggan' death. Instead, the cuckoo clocks on the face wall slid open and threw daggers or darts or needles. _Shit…!_ Twisting so hard most of the bones on her body popped, Meija only had time to try and twist out of the way of those before slamming into a table and spilling onto the middle of the carpeted floor. _Ouch, that hurt_, she deadpanned to herself.

She lay there for a moment, wishing she could be anywhere but that house, when a commotion a couple rooms over caught her attention. _Better scram_, the bloody pup thought to herself, dragging her sorry hide through a pair of double swinging doors somewhat down the hall.

And Meija found herself in a kitchen. Eyes lit up, she went straight for the fridge, padding across the floor as silently as she could, though she weaved a little bit and left a few drops of crimson behind to stain the tiles. Of course, the fridge had a chain keeping it shut, secured with a pad-lock. _I really hate this damn house_…

And then there was an explosion in the hallway. Alarmed, Meija leapt on the counters, bowling open a few drawers with her frantic scrabbling, and dropped behind the stove, back pressed firmly against the wall behind her and chest brushing the metal panel in front of her with every hyperventilation. _Just breathe, breathe, breathe_, she told herself.

A bright color caught the corner of her eye. Turning, Meija stared curiously at the rubber pipe that led from the wall to the machine before her, wondering what it was for. Making sure to keep well away from the outlet, _Luna forbid that fucking thing comes after me next_, Meija inched closer to read the tag on the neck of the pipe. _Let's see, 'danger, natural gas, highly flammable'… oh!_

_Oh._

Meija was starting to get an inkling of an idea. An idea that she knew could probably backfire. But maybe not.

The wolf-girl's tail began to wag, thumping the floor feebly next to her and kicking up cobwebs and dust-bunnies. She even knew an awesome way to kill the power to the entire mansion while doing it, too. _This is gonna be really cool_.

Standing up slowly, dizzily, and overall unhappily, Meija cracked her entire back and her head spun. Blandly, she went to drop a hand on the stove-top and toss herself over. Then the wolf caught that hand so close to the heated metal below her she still burnt it a little, not the least bit surprised anymore. _Yep, of course, it makes perfect sense for the stove to turn on all by itself and burn people_.

Sighing, the orphan edged her way along the wall until she could safely reach the countertops and slide over those, leaving a long red smear in her wake. Safely on all fours and in one piece still, Meija began to nose through the drawers she'd spilled on the floor, hesitant to try and open anything. _Luna, this guy has some sort of fascination with knives_...

Spotting something over at the edge of the pile, the were-wolf meandered over and found what she was looking for. Leaning down to grasp the mechanical kitchen timer in her teeth, her collar shifted slightly.

Meija opened her eyes and found herself on the floor next to the timer not a moment later, a bit confused, but still alive. _That was weird_, she thought to herself, trying to fight down the panic bubbling up inside her. Catching the timer between her fangs, she quickly bounced up onto her legs to drop it on the counter.

_Okay, check, and now to find a lamp or something_… After making sure there wasn't one in sight, and since she was not going in the drawers, Meija eyed the doors she'd come in through warily. _I could try that table I knocked over_…

Slinking towards the door, the wolf paused next to it and held her ear up, matted tail flicking inquisitively behind her. Satisfied after a moment, the were-girl slithered through the door and took two bounds toward the overturned table.

Then she sank into the carpeting.

Afraid it was another pit fall trap, the wolf flung herself out and flip-twisted on pure adrenalin, landing with her lags spread and teeth bared. _Not this time!_ She stood perfectly still in a silent snarl for a few moments, then realized that nothing was happening. _What the heck_, she questioned, noticing that the rug had been shoved aside by her leap and what was underneath. _There's a crater in the floor!_

Sure that something strange was going on, the girl quickly found her lamp and retreated to the kitchen. There, she set to work on making her homemade bomb.

First, she cut the plug and a length of wire away from the lamp itself and pulled the casing off the back of the timer. Then, she pulled apart the plastic encircled wires and wrapped them around the inner working of the timer, one on the bell and the other on the striker, positioned so that when the alarm went off, the wire on the striker would hit the wire on the bell.

_Perfect_, Meija thought with a devilish, fang-bearing grin. She then got back over the blue hot stove, plugged in her igniter and set it for five minutes; then she cut open the yellow tube and shoved her masterpiece in, ignoring the hiss of highly flammable gas funneling out of the open-ended pipe. _The wires striking each other will both short-circuit the house and cause a spark that will cause the flammable gas to explode at the same time_, she thought smugly as she bolted as quickly as she could manage down the hallway in a random direction.

The chain-collar around her neck clanking loud enough to grate Meija's ears, the street-wolf just managed to hurdle over a sand pit when she was caught, mid-air, by some strange sort of vine that was growing out from behind a picture on the wall. Seized and squeezed, Meija had the breath knocked out of her.

_Let, go_, she wheezed in her mind, swinging weakly with exhausted arms. _Let go, let go, let go, put me down, let g-…!_

It was almost like she'd hit an emotional wall that had stopped her desperate, panic and fear based mantra with a forced calm. _Why does this feel so familiar_…

Going completely limp, the vine dropped Meija, who allowed herself to plummet headfirst like a limp ragdoll. She landed easily, propped up on something warm. It was too comforting to be real. _Oh great, I'm probably dead_…

There was a boyish laugh in her ear. "I think that might've been too calm," it joked weakly. Meija snapped her eyes open. _Zak_, she tried to ask, practically nose to nose with the boy. No sound came out of her mouth, though her lips formed the words. Meija stared in shock for a moment longer, practically blinded by his brightly glowing eyes.

* * *

Meija: ZAK!

Zak: MEIJA!

Wolfy: READ AND REVIEW! PLEASE!


	18. Chapter 17: Her Home

Wolfy: Okay Everybody! Here it comes! My final chapter!

Everybody: WHAT!

* * *

With a bomb ticking away the time somewhere, Meija, covered in blood and sweat and grime, stared at the sight before her. If not a bit ruffled, the black and white haired, glowing eyed, orange wearing boy in front of her looked exactly like a knight in shining armor straight out of a storybook.

_Zak_, she yipped happily in her own mind, unable to voice it out loud. Instead, to show him how happy she was to see him, Meija let a huge grin spread across her face. _How are you here_, she asked excitedly, tail swishing madly below her and throat rasping. Remembering that she couldn't speak, and realizing that Zak had caught her from certain death, she wobbled out of his grip, fully intending on, she wasn't sure, hugging him? Planting a gigantic kiss on him for saving her from this hell-hole? _I have to warn him about the bomb somehow_, Meija remembered suddenly, collapsed back on her haunches.

Zak was suddenly next to her, hands on her shoulders. He had a horrified look on his face. Meija cocked her head to the side in question, tail thumping a few times, a bit concerned, but mostly lightheaded. _What?_

"Meija," Zak asked, sounding serious and urgent. "Where are you injured? There's blood all over the place!" His hands were shaking, not to mention slick and black with blood, she realized. She twisted around to show him the collar, but waved his hands away when he reached to try and pry it off. _It won't come off_, she tried to convey by shaking her head. _I tried; trust me, I tried_.

Then she remembered the bomb again. _Zak_, she interrupted whatever he was trying to say to her by snapping her fingers. _We have to leave, we don't have much time!_ Meija pointed frantically at the door down the halls and tapped the back of her wrist, as if pointing at a watch. _Leave, no time_, she stressed.

Zak frowned, then started down the hallway at a fast pace, leading Meija with a protective, worried hand in the small of her back. "Why aren't you talking," he asked. "Are you mad at me? I came all the way out here to rescue you! And what are you talking about, bomb?"

Surprised, Meija stumbled a little, tripping over her own hands and feet as if they were huge puppy paws. _Y-You can read minds!_ Zak laughed, crouching by her and checking to see if she was injured anywhere else while he had the chance.

"No, I just hear the things you direct at me because of my powers," he tapped the side of his head and smiled, though it morphed into a deep, dark snarl of rage when he found the huge hand-print bruise across her collarbone. Meija thought about that for a moment and let him comb her over, wincing when he hit tender spots. _Powers_, she asked. _You mean your glowing eyes?_

"I guess," he mumbled distractedly. "I'm not really sure about all the details."

Meija accepted that answer; after all, there were plenty of things she didn't understand about herself, either. And besides, Zak was Pack. Pack was to be trusted. _Hey, h_- her thought trailed off into a startled shriek when the floor opened beneath them in the typical, crazy-I'm-gonna-kill-you, house-of-horrors manner. Latching onto Zak with chipped and clipped nails, the duo tumbled down the brick chute and into a room with four walls and no doors.

Meija slammed into the ground at her hips, Zak securely clutched, and clutching back, each other's shoulders in terror. Milliseconds later, the lights flickered off, and the far side of the room exploded in a burst of flames and brick.

_Boom!_

_ Zak, right in front of her, looking furious and frightened, eyes lit up like the sun…_

_ Doc, and Drew, screaming, dropping through the ceiling…_

_ Fisk, yowling like a Gorilla-Cat, flying in from the next room over…_

As time started to catch up to her again, the floor beneath Meija's battered body began to fall apart. She watched, heart pounding across her ear drums, as the crumbling ceiling grew farther away, Zak tumbling down after her, flames roaring across the hole. On instinct, the girl flapped her brown tail and began to flip sideways, seeing Drew flailing beside her.

How had they gotten there? All of them, Doc, Drew, Fisk, there was Komodo and Zon, Zak… The surprises, however, were not over.

_Fwap!_

Meija hit the inky surface hard, subsequently being sucked under the water. Her eyes, which only a moment before saw flames and her Pack, now saw only bubbles and darkness. _And she couldn't swim!_

_Fwish…_

Meija choked and spat, gasping for air, clawing for land, before going under again, ears filling. She was flipped and twisted and thrown about. Were her eyes open or not? She caught herself on the cement walls, slamming and scrabbling to get out. Her tail whipped about wildly behind her.

_Fw-fwish-ish-iblmmm…_

Her nose hurt from the water. But it was beginning to smell and taste different, less stale, more like real water. Clawing and kicking uselessly, the girl spun and slammed into someone's large form, probably Doc, before being tugged away again. _I, I can't breathe…_

Then, for a moment, air surrounded her. She coughed and gasped. Was that the moon? Was it upside down or right side up? Damn, it was freezing out here… Meija slapped the water hard, scraped along the bottom of the riverbed, grasping at pebbles and sand before being lifted away.

Spinning slightly, the wolf teen fanned her tail out and coughed, just once, watching the bubbles float above her. Then she twisted under again.

"Meija!" Someone was pulling at her shoulders, helping her stumble from the rushing water onto cool banks. Throwing herself sideways, the grateful girl laid on her back, completely exhausted, half in and half out of the rapids. She panted happily, thumped her tail once, staring into the face of her Pack. Of the family that had risked themselves to come and save her from that hell-hole. Of _her_ family.

"Let's go home." Meija said finally. "I want to go _home_."

* * *

Wolfy: And there you have it! Meija, once the lone wolf who had no trust for anything, now has found a place where she belongs!

Meija: What a messed up place, too. What kind of lot have I thrown myself in with?

Zak: Awww *hugs her affectionately* you know you love us!

Meija: *Grumble*

Wolfy: The Saturday family are not mine in any way, but the events you have just read, and the girl you've learned about, are. Please let me know what you think!


End file.
